Sparks In Dust | UPDATED...FINALLY (AUGUST 5th 2024)

[GrimCityGirl]

DIBS!

I still don't trust Wilkins...what an utterly horrible thing for Tara to have to confront. The kind of thing that threat alone causes trauma...and now she's gotten all in a fluster with Willow!

Oh, my heart breaks for her. I hope Willow won't freak out too much and avoid Tara or at least that Tara can be reassured her secret won't be told. I trust your great storytelling!

I think you'll like this next chapter it doesn't really mention Tara's reaction to the threat itself in this chapter but that will come into play later.

“While I always admire your work ethic, I’m not convinced you can keep your professionalism if a woman’s involved.” Grant stared at Watson in shock, his mouth slightly agape.

Watson chuckled in response before explaining “Come now, I’ve seen you pine after Joyce for quite some time, you are a good man but a lonely one and I fear this daughter may get the best of you.”

As soon as Joyce’s name was mentioned, Grant looked towards the nearest campfire where Joyce and Hank sat with their baby Elizabeth. Joyce was rocking the child, timidly shrinking into herself, while her husband drank presumably his third or fourth cup of moonshine of the evening.

So Giles knew Elizabeth since she was a baby as well... Apparantly apart from the Rosenbergs and Jenny, practically all (not undead) characters from the Buffyverse were part of this "gang" (or children of members).
I'm wondering if the town the gang was stalking back then was Sunnydale, and what happened there that lead to the end of the gang.

He then turned towards Tara, who had been watching with confused fascination.

“You look so much like your mother. It’s truly astounding.” He said softly, with a slight smile.

Donnie, not quite as easily diffused as his father, stepped in front of Wilkins and shoved him from the shoulders.

“So you know they said they’d come back, run a train on her, huh? Your kind words mean nothin’, you put her in danger!” Donnie yelled at Wilkins, briefly forgetting that Tara was within earshot, his anger and protective nature getting the better of him.

Tara stared as the words sank in. She may have lived a fairly risk free life but she knew exactly what a ‘train’ was in that context. The idea that those men would return and force themselves on her in succession shocked her to her very core, she felt fear run through her veins like freezing water, and found herself unable to move.

Wilkins recovered from the push and righted himself, looking Donnie straight in the eye and answering darkly.

“Trust me, they won’t be coming back here. I’ve seen to it.”

Poor Tara, learning this way of the horrible threat made against her!
I'm wondering how exactly Wilkins ensured that his henchmen won't come back - have they been reduced to vampire fodder by now?

With surprise, Willow quickly stood and closed the book, before walking over to see the wide array of emotions sprawled all over the blonde’s face.

“Have you forgotten something?” Willow asked, unsure how to read the situation.

“I’m sorry, I just… I found out...I j-just needed to f-feel… safe” Tara muttered, her eyes welling up with tears.

Willow put her hand on Tara’s arms in a comforting motion and whispered “Shh. I’ll protect you.”

Tara smiled at the comment, but immediately felt herself starting to cry. Willow sprang into action and gathered Tara in her arms, holding her close as Tara cried into her chest.

After a few moments of standing with Tara’s tears raining down on her, Willow gently guided them over to the bed so that they could sit while she comforted the woman.

After a while longer, Tara managed to calm down enough to compose herself.

“I’m.. s-sorry for c-crying all over you” she mumbled, wiping tears from her eyes and hoping she didn’t look too puffy from the emotional outburst.

Willow continued to hold Tara despite her tears receding and stroked her back.

“Hush, no. It's absolutely fine. I just want you to be okay… what happened?” she asked, still having no idea how Tara went from okay to not okay in such a short time outside.

Tara briefly explained what she had learned, not giving too much of the family information away, mostly explaining the threat.

Willow’s eyes narrowed in anger, and she suddenly stood up.

“I can’t believe someone would… This is outrageous! We have to do something, call the sheriff, I can do that!” Willow started marching towards the door, but Tara stood in the way and put her hands on Willow’s arms, stopping her forward movement.

“No. no. It’s been d-d-dealt with. Please calm down.” Tara pleaded, not wanting Willow in any danger and mildly surprised at her conviction.

“But this isn’t right! This isn’t fair! You’re so sweet, and kind, and special and beautiful and no one deserves that anyway but you especially don’t, how could anyone want to hurt you? It's insane and they should pay, they’re bad people and they should have bad things happen to them! Bad nasty things for bad nasty men!” Willow spewed a torrent of anxious, upset words and couldn’t seem to calm down.

I loved how Willow comforted Tara and how fiercely protective she acted after hearing about the threat.

Tara meanwhile watched Willow’s outburst with a warmth she was surprised by. The woman cared about her, and thought she was beautiful.

Willow was still quite close to her, her arms still being held back by Tara’s hands, and Tara could not stop staring at Willow’s lips as she continued to list the many bad things the men deserved.

Without thought, intention, or any logical reasoning whatsoever, Tara’s vulnerability and emotional exhaustion resulted in a total lack of control of her inhibitions.

She bridged the gap between them, and pressed her lips to the red head’s.

Electricity shot through them both, and Willow felt herself push back on the pressure, revelling in how amazing the kiss felt, but the pressure alerted Tara to what she was doing.

And she panicked.

“I am...s-s-so s-sorry I … what am I… I’ll go, I’m sorry, please d-don’t say… oh God” Tara recoiled and ran from the cabin, her heart beating rapidly.

Willow just stared at the girls retreat, touching her lips in wonderment at the most beautiful thing she’d ever felt.

Although poor Tara is - understandably - panicking after practically "outing" herself as gay towards Willow, I hope that this kiss will help Willow to accept her own feelings for the blonde (and maybe even encourage her to make the "next move").

Thanks for continuing to read! the old gang is like the connecting element to most characters, but there actually are other elements yet to be introduced. I won't spoil it. The next chapter (posting momentarily) does respond to some of your points.

sorry for the lateness of my feedback!

this gets more and more complex- I am curious about Giles and his relationship with Joyce and, upcoming, Jenny. I like how his past is in line with the Giles of the show and his Ripper past.

Aw Tara kissing Willow in a moment of extreme vulnerability, glad that Willow accepted it and recognized how good it felt

can't wait for more!

Giles is quite an important character in this whole story, although I never started it with that in mind - he just fits very well. His ripper past definitely comes into play more as we continue.

There's a lot of Jenny in this next chapter. Thank you for continuing to read and support!

[GrimCityGirl]

CHAPTER 13

1878

Ruper Grant walked into The Sunset Saloon, a bustling place in the centre of the town, filled with a mixture of local trappers, cowboys and miners but peppered with the occasional more higher class gentlemen, dressed in their finery.

The atmosphere was fairly tame and light, too early in the evening for the drunken violence the saloon was occasionally known for. Some were eating dinner, or just drowning their sorrows into their dirty beer tankards.

The notable exception was the poker table on the front right corner of the saloon, opposite the bar. Four men and one woman played poker with intense energy.

The men were fairly well dressed, clearly able to afford their buy-ins, but the woman’s attire made her stick out amongst the average bar dwellers.

She wore an evocative red and black dress, immaculate and eye-catching. Her dark hair was pinned up, with a red flower covering up the ties. She moved with grace and purpose with each chip toss and card read.

Grant kept his eyes trained on her while making his way to the bar, ordering himself a whiskey and trying to fit in, also sporting a three piece suit to match the more upper class clientele.

He drank silently, watching the woman for half an hour as she won each hand she played. He also noticed the men around the table getting more and more agitated with each round.

After a particularly tense round,the woman chuckled in triumph “That’s a full house! Pay up, boys!” The woman’s cheeky proudful grin irritated one of the men enough to result in him standing up abruptly, kicking his chair backwards, as he called her a charlatan and a thief.

Sensing this could turn for the worse, Grant immediately ran to the woman's side, intent on defending her, when she held up her hand to stop him without turning to look in his direction.
“I can take care of myself” she muttered towards him, before pointing to the angry man.

“I won that hand fair and square, I broke no rules, if you can’t handle the loss then don’t play the game.” she stared at the man in the eyes without flinching, waiting for him to react.

After a second the man sighed in annoyance and stormed out of the bar, without looking back. The woman rolled her eyes and picked up her winnings from the table, turning to the rest of the men.

“Well boys it’s been lovely taking all your hard earned cash but, I need a drink. ‘Til next time!” she winked at them and walked with her winnings towards the bar.

Grant watched the whole exchange in mild amusement, and quickly followed the woman.

“You play Poker rather well” he said, leaning against the bar with a disinterested look.

“Poker is easy when you have too much money. You can take more risks when you don’t care, as a result you win more hands. Skill has little to do with it” she responded matter of factly.

“Do you play?” she asked him, looking him up and down and taking note of his attire, and the slight flashes of items she could make out under his jacket.

“I do, occasionally. Although I’m not much of a risk taker” he responded, continuing to attempt to appear nonchalant about the woman.

“Well, you can’t afford to, so that makes sense” she commented, looking him in the eye.

Grant, surprised by her response, tried to shrug it off.

“That’s a bold assumption” he shook his head in dismissal.

“Not really. I admit you’re well dressed but it doesn’t take a genius to see how worn your outfit is, not to mention the mud and scuff marks on your boots suggest a lot of outside roaming, and you smell faintly of horses.” she resumed her matter-of-fact tone and hitched an eyebrow at him, daring him to try and match her calculated approach.

Unfortunately, Grant was not quite as skilled. He started to stammer in shock at her accurate assessment.

“W-w-well I sometimes, you know, work with the uh… stables that I … uh… own and…”

She patronisingly put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him.

“Don’t lie. You’re bad at it.”

Grant found himself turning red in embarrassment at how this operation of his had turned out thus far.

“So, have you been in Sunnydale long?” she asked him, continuing to assess him visually.

“No, not long” he answered, happy to actually give a truthful answer.

“If you’re not a local, then how do you know to pack a cross and holy water?” she asked him, looking into his eyes then pointedly looking towards the items sticking out of his jacket’s breast pocket.

Confounded by the beautiful woman again, Grant groaned to himself and buttoned his jacket closed to hide the items.

She laughed at his reaction. “You are quite terrible at being inconspicuous. So, did you want to play cards?” she asked him, bringing herself closely into his personal space.

“Not sure why you would want to, as you’ve deduced I’m not financially flush” he responded, finding himself warming to her proximity.

“We don’t have to play for money” she pointed out, looking up at him and licking her lips slightly, smiling seductively.

Grant found his already reddened cheeks deepen a further shade. “That’s rather forward”.

She shrugged. “Eh, I’m bored. My name’s Jenny, by the way” she continued to smile at him, holding her hand out for him to shake.

He took her hand and shook it, stroking her hand with his thumb slowly in the process.

“I’m Rupert” he smiled back at her.

-----------------------------------

Elizabeth rode into a small, industrial town. A train line ran along the coast while small houses and shops draped across the hill side.

She and Faith slowed to a stop on the main road running next to the train line, at a small shop with a simple black sign out the front reading “Levinson’s Inventions” on it in aged gold lettering.

She jumped off of Faith and reigned her to a nearby post, patting her flank before walking through the door, letting the bell above tingle to announce her presence.

Upon entering the establishment, Elizabeth noted a large number of shelves, all littered with various indiscernible metal gadgets and items. She couldn’t recognise a single one but they looked rather impressive to her.

As she scanned the room she saw a short man with black hair and glasses, bending over a desk with tools in his hands, deeply concentrating on a metallic contraption in front of him.

He muttered a “one moment please” without looking up from his work, so Elizabeth slowly walked into the shop, taking a second to look at some of the strange items closer, before stopping in front of his desk.

“Hi” she said, waiting for him to look up.

The man raised his head and his eyes widened in recognition and surprise as he took in Elizabeth’s appearance.

“Bethie!” he exclaimed, running around the counter and throwing his arms around the taller woman.

“Jonny” she responded warmly, closing her eyes at the rare physical comfort she allowed herself to experience.

Jonny pulled back slightly, a little embarrassed at his own enthusiasm but continued to smile at her.

“It is so good to see you” he stated.

“You too” she responded simply. Jonny smiled and nodded, before gesturing to a chair for her to sit, which she declined with a head shake.

“Not that I mind but, what brings you to my neck of the woods?” he asked.

Elizabeth started to pace. “Honestly, I need information and there’s not many people I can trust to look into this for me.”

“Are you still… hunting?” Jonny asked, with a pause.

“Yes. It turns out I was never a demon, or possessed, I’m a ‘Vampire Slayer’, I exist to hunt down monsters. Crazy right?” she smirked as she turned to him, catching his eye.

He smirked back, clearly happy to see his friend. Elizabeth took a second to see fading scars on his face, and a slightly haunted look deep in his eyes, one she recognised in her own.

“When did you get out?” she asked him quietly, losing her smile.

“About the same time as you” he responded, purposely averting his gaze from hers.

“Good. I’m glad. I wanted to get you out too but… I just… I didn’t know how…” Jonny put his hands on hers when he saw the guilt stretch across her face.

“No, no, none of that. You did what you had to do. You survived. So did I.” he looked at her with pain but understanding, strengthening his grip on her hands to convey his feelings.

“He’s still looking for you, you know” he added, darkly.

“Oh trust me. I know.” she responded, matching his tone. Jonny let her hands drop.

“Enough of all that. How can I help you?” he brightened his expression, wanting not to dwell on the past.

“There’s a town, a little while from here that I’m currently staying in. I found some old wanted posters and one indicated someone I know. I'm trying to find out more, as I currently don’t trust him to tell me the truth. I fear there’s something going on… I can’t really explain it, but something feels off.

I tracked down one of the other bounties, a man named Willy. It turns out they were in the same gang, about 20 years ago. All I managed to get out of Willy is that the gang was called ‘The Watson Gang’ and that they did a bit of everything, robbery, moonshine, debt collecting, manual labour. Mixture of legal and illegal stuff, quite a big group by the sounds of it. According to him, he went off to sell their latest batch of moonshine and by the time he came back some rich woman had died at their camp, all hell broke loose and everyone had disappeared. He hasn’t seen any of them since. He apparently found out most of the details from the local papers, so not the best lead. He may have been lying but I beat him pretty hard to find out what I did so, I doubt it.

I need to know more about this gang, and what happened with this woman. You were always great at research and I need this to be done as quietly as possible. Think this is something you could still do?”

She had paced the floor throughout her description, trying to give as many details as she could, knowing she didn’t have many to give.

He nodded while he listened, and after she finished he looked thoughtful for a moment before turning back towards her.

“Hmm. This is quite interesting. Obviously I don’t run in the same circles as before but I’m still pretty good at getting information. I know someone who can get me access to files from the Pinkerton detective agency, if those wanted posters are out there then chances are, they’ll have information on this gang. I’ll see what I can find.” He promised her, before gesturing her towards the door, knowing she wouldn’t want to stick around.

“I will ride through again soon and check in” she promised, surprising them both by initiating a parting hug.

He squeezed her in slightly and whispered in her ear. “Please be careful, Bethie” and he felt her nod against his face.

They smiled at each other again, and Elizabeth left.

------------------

Tara was sweeping hay off of the main walkway in the stable. She had spent the entire day before cleaning each stall thoroughly and spent a considerable amount of time cleaning herself afterwards, pointedly not thinking about the beautiful woman she had kissed and then ran from.

She had done everything in her power for the last two days to avoid Willow. She had even prepared and left dinner for Willow and the family before 6pm so that she would not be around when Willow came for her evening meal.

She had seen Willow, of course. Getting water, talking to Alex, reading on her porch. She had stolen as many glances as she could without allowing their eyes to meet, knowing she couldn’t face her yet.

She had been comforted by the fact that Willow hadn’t packed up and left the ranch immediately, hoping she hadn’t scared Willow to death, but she still was too mortified to talk to her.

So she did every chore known to man, with more dedication than her family had ever seen.

As she brushed the last remnants of hay to the back corner of the stable, a voice broke the morning silence.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Willow asked from the doorway, wounded eyes tracing Tara’s form.

Tara shrugged, refusing to lift her head to see the woman, and tried to deflect the conversation.

“I’ve j-j-just been w-working, the horses n-needed cleaning and - “

Willow had crossed the gap between them during Tara’s stuttered response, and stood directly in front of her.

“Please. Look at me.” Willow softly demanded, placing her finger under Tara’s chin, and lightly pulling her chin upward.

Tara allowed her head to be lifted, and finally locked eyes with Willow.

As soon as their eyes locked, Willow boldly stepped forward and covered Tara’s lips with her own, the hand still grasping Tara’s chin slid upwards to cradle her cheek as she let out the passion she had been wallowing in for the last few days.

Willow had been frustrated for a long time with her work and her emotions. All of the secrets, the complication of her situation, and her feelings for this woman had constantly left her with an ache, and when Tara had kissed her those few short days before, Willow had felt something inside of her uncurl.
The fire for adventure that had brought her to Sunnydale in the first place had been fanned, and she was sick of being naive and cowardly. One kiss had made her realise that she needed to be brave for herself and towards those around her.

So she decided they needed to speak, and if she needed to be the one to break the ice then so be it.

Admittedly, she hadn’t envisioned kissing Tara immediately but as soon as she saw her eyes, she could not help herself.

Tara took only a second to register Willow’s lips pressed firmly against hers, and could no longer deny herself. She acted on pure instinct, her hand reached out to softly grab the back of Willow’s head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, and pressing her lips back against Willows. She let her tongue poke out slightly to trace Willow’s lips between passes, and heard the red head make a small, adorable sound in her throat.

Spurred on by Tara’s eagerness, Willow found herself pushing Tara against a nearby beam in the stable, pressing her body against Tara’s and allowing her thigh to rest between the woman’s legs.

With a passion neither had experienced before, or remotely understood, they clumsily pushed against each other, leaving fast, bruising kisses against each other’s lips, allowing their hands to run over each other's bodies in frantic, unplanned movements.

As the tension built between the two women, the hooves of a galloping horse could be heard getting louder and louder as they approached the stable.

Willow, upon recognising the sound, managed to push back from Tara just in time before Donnie rode into the open stable door.

The two women looked at each other stunned for a moment, before Willow meekly said she better get back to work and started walking through the stable door when Donnie yelled “Hey!” after her.

Willow stopped on the spot, terrified that Donnie had seen.

“I was just comin’ to get ya. Did you wanna go now?” Donnie asked her, without any trace of menace.

Willow visibly relaxed.

“Oh, um, yes of course. I just need to get some notes, I’ll meet you back here.” she quickly jogged off towards her cabin without looking back.

Donnie raised an eyebrow at her departure and looked over at his sister who had picked up the brush again, sweeping basically nothing as her chore was already complete.

“Everything okay, sis?” he asked. Noting not for the first time in the last few days how odd his sister was behaving.

“Y-yes, f-fine. You?” she responded, fidgeting with the brush handle and trying not to meet her brother’s eye.

“Uh, yeah. Maybe you should take a break, Tara. You look a lil flushed” he offered, presuming the reddening of her cheeks was due to all the extra work she had been doing lately.

Tara’s eyes widened in slight panic before she just sort of nodded in agreement, looking away.

Before Donnie could ask further, Willow had returned with a satchel.

“I’m ready” Willow announced, trying not to meet Tara’s eye in case they gave themselves away.

“Great, Tara can you help her up?” Donnie gestured to the back of the horse he had stayed mounted to.

Tara, avoiding both Donnie and Willow’s eyes, nodded and walked over to them.

Donnie turned slightly to help hoist Willow upwards as Tara stood behind Willow, her hands slipping from the girl’s waist to slightly brush against her ass.

Willow held in a moan at the brief contact before swinging her leg over the back of the horse.

Donnie nodded his thanks to his sister and turned the horse around, riding towards the ranch gates.

Willow turned to meet Tara’s gaze as they rode off, the girls stared at each other until it was no longer possible.

Donnie, oblivious to the longing looks, yelled towards Willow over his shoulder as he rode.

“So, where did you need to go again?”

Willow yelled back an address and Donnie looked confused for a moment.

“Wait, are you visiting uncle Giles?”

Willow looked surprised at the back of Donnie’s head.

“Rupert Giles is your uncle?” she exclaimed, surprised this bit of information had eluded her so far.

“Yeah - well, no - not by blood. He’s an old family friend of my folks. He moved back to Sunnydale a little while back, right around the time my mom got sick. He helped her out a lot. He still sees Tara on occasion, it’s been a while though” he noted, a little confused himself about the nature of his father’s friendship with the man, considering all the history that had started to present itself.

“Well, he knows a lot about my area of research, I’ve been writing him letters for a while. He’s one of the reasons I decided to stay up here” she confessed, proud of any opportunity to respond with actual truth, no matter how vaguely it was given.

“Oh, well he’s a smart man. Any reason you needed to see him today?” Donnie asked, curious despite himself. He didn’t know much about their lodger and all of the recent issues at home had made him a little suspicious of people.

“I’m stuck on my work. Think I need some direct help.” she responded, not keen on giving much away.

Not satisfied but not sure how to continue the conversation, Donnie muttered a “Fair enough” before continuing to Giles’s cabin.

--------------------

In the darkening shadows of the group’s basement, three men hung from meat hooks attached to the ceiling. They were alive but unconscious, with ghostly pale complexions and they were covered with various bite marks.

Darla was feasting on the furthest hanging body, her face morphed into a vampire’s visage, as she hungrily drank from a wound she had created in the man’s chest.

Drusilla was using her sharpened fingernails to drag scars gently across the second victim, creating many small cuts along his arms, lapping the blood they let as she went, all the while humming a tune to herself.

Spike had his back against the wall, watching as Angelus shrugged on his coat after putting on his boots.

“So let me get this right” the Englishman started towards Angelus. “We need to keep a low profile, but you can just bring back three plump victims that won’t be missed? Seems to be a bit of a double standard there, mate.” Spike stood between Angelus and the door way, wanting to ensure he got an answer.

Angelus walked up to Spike, looking down at the slightly shorter vampire.

“They needed to disappear. I provided them the opportunity” he vaguely explained, before pushing past Spike to make his way to the door.

“And off you go again, out without us.” he stated pointedly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Like I said, I’ve got work to do. I’ll let you know about it soon enough” without waiting for a response, Angelus walked up the stairs towards the basement door, and left into the night.

Drusilla popped her singing head up from the hanging middle man’s bleeding wrist.

“Oh poppet, don’t be jealous. Daddy is just taking care of us. Come, feed with me” Drusilla purred with a haunting tone at the blonde vampire.

Spike smiled at her. “Sorry, pet. I need some air.” he followed Angelus’s footsteps into the night.

He tailed the taller vampire from a safe distance, knowing to be careful when it came to Angelus.

He saw him turn down an alleyway, so he carefully snuck up the side of a nearby building.

Looking down, he could spot Angelus talking to an oldish mortal, Spike recognised him as the would-be-mayor that Angelus had been staring at a while back. He kept quiet so he could listen to their conversation.

“Those hencemen of yours have been dealt with, you needn’t worry anymore” Angelus informed Wilkins.

“Please, do not give me details. I appreciate your work, though - and I have more for you, should you want it.”

Angelus nodded.

“The current mayor, Mr Robert Flutie - he’s proving to be a bit squeaky clean. I usually like that but not in a political sense. Anyway, I need to see if there’s any dodgy information I can get on him to help my campaign. He’s a very friendly gentleman but most monsters are. Can you follow him, see what you find out?”

Wilkins handed Angelus a sack of bills as he explained his next work.

Angelus doesn’t even count the money before pocketing it.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Splendid!” Wilkins smiled in response.

Spike stared down at the encounter in complete confusion.

END OF CHAPTER 13

[Laragh]

I think you'll like this next chapter

Oh, I did! I did, I did, I did! What to say other than I trust you completely with my heart and when it comes to W/T I am very, VERY picky in that arena!

Love seeing all the storylines continue to converge!

[shirrey]

I already told you privately, but this is my favorite chapter so far!

LOVE saucy, smart, femme fatale Jenny!! Poor Giles is so befuddled!!

I was surprised that Jonathan and Buffy (Bethie) were so close, but I like it! I wasn't a huge fan of his character but I like your version better already- so many threads to this story, so many characters- and yet it all flows!!

And the Willow/Tara bit- go bold Willow!! that was sweet and sexy and I could feel their surprise and then longing- that long stare as Willow rides away- nice!!

Can't wait for more!

[Will's redemption]

“Poker is easy when you have too much money. You can take more risks when you don’t care, as a result you win more hands.

According to him, he went off to sell their latest batch of moonshine and by the time he came back some rich woman had died at their camp, all hell broke loose and everyone had disappeared.

So I presume that Jenny with "too much money" is the rich lady who will die at their camp. She'll probably get killed by some gang member (not Giles, I trust).

That Jonathan is Buffy's (probably only?) friend surprised me as well. Nice twist. I hope he won't get killed in your story.

He smirked back, clearly happy to see his friend. Elizabeth took a second to see fading scars on his face, and a slightly haunted look deep in his eyes, one she recognised in her own.

“When did you get out?” she asked him quietly, losing her smile.

“About the same time as you” he responded, purposely averting his gaze from hers.

“Good. I’m glad. I wanted to get you out too but… I just… I didn’t know how…” Jonny put his hands on hers when he saw the guilt stretch across her face.

“No, no, none of that. You did what you had to do. You survived. So did I.” he looked at her with pain but understanding, strengthening his grip on her hands to convey his feelings.

“He’s still looking for you, you know” he added, darkly.

“Oh trust me. I know.” she responded, matching his tone.

So before Giles found Elizabeth again as a teenager, she and Jonathan (and probably other kids and teens) were forced to live with and probably do illegal work for some bad guy? Obviously not Wilkins - my bet is on Ethan Rayne.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Willow asked from the doorway, wounded eyes tracing Tara’s form.

Tara shrugged, refusing to lift her head to see the woman, and tried to deflect the conversation.

“I’ve j-j-just been w-working, the horses n-needed cleaning and - “

Willow had crossed the gap between them during Tara’s stuttered response, and stood directly in front of her.

“Please. Look at me.” Willow softly demanded, placing her finger under Tara’s chin, and lightly pulling her chin upward.

Tara allowed her head to be lifted, and finally locked eyes with Willow.

As soon as their eyes locked, Willow boldly stepped forward and covered Tara’s lips with her own, the hand still grasping Tara’s chin slid upwards to cradle her cheek as she let out the passion she had been wallowing in for the last few days.

Willow had been frustrated for a long time with her work and her emotions. All of the secrets, the complication of her situation, and her feelings for this woman had constantly left her with an ache, and when Tara had kissed her those few short days before, Willow had felt something inside of her uncurl.
The fire for adventure that had brought her to Sunnydale in the first place had been fanned, and she was sick of being naive and cowardly. One kiss had made her realise that she needed to be brave for herself and towards those around her.

So she decided they needed to speak, and if she needed to be the one to break the ice then so be it.

Admittedly, she hadn’t envisioned kissing Tara immediately but as soon as she saw her eyes, she could not help herself.

Tara took only a second to register Willow’s lips pressed firmly against hers, and could no longer deny herself. She acted on pure instinct, her hand reached out to softly grab the back of Willow’s head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, and pressing her lips back against Willows. She let her tongue poke out slightly to trace Willow’s lips between passes, and heard the red head make a small, adorable sound in her throat.

Spurred on by Tara’s eagerness, Willow found herself pushing Tara against a nearby beam in the stable, pressing her body against Tara’s and allowing her thigh to rest between the woman’s legs.

With a passion neither had experienced before, or remotely understood, they clumsily pushed against each other, leaving fast, bruising kisses against each other’s lips, allowing their hands to run over each other's bodies in frantic, unplanned movements.

Yay for Willow's bravery to seek Tara out and initiate the kiss! I just hope they'll have the opportunity to privately talk about their feelings for each other in the next chapter after Willow returns from visiting Giles.

[GrimCityGirl]

I think you'll like this next chapter

Oh, I did! I did, I did, I did! What to say other than I trust you completely with my heart and when it comes to W/T I am very, VERY picky in that arena!

Love seeing all the storylines continue to converge!

Lol I'm glad you enjoyed, although I do seem to be getting quite Giles centric and this next chapter continues in that vein. I do have plans for our girls, but this Giles stuff keeps growing for me and I have so many other dots to connect. it's a process!

I already told you privately, but this is my favorite chapter so far!

LOVE saucy, smart, femme fatale Jenny!! Poor Giles is so befuddled!!

I was surprised that Jonathan and Buffy (Bethie) were so close, but I like it! I wasn't a huge fan of his character but I like your version better already- so many threads to this story, so many characters- and yet it all flows!!

And the Willow/Tara bit- go bold Willow!! that was sweet and sexy and I could feel their surprise and then longing- that long stare as Willow rides away- nice!!

Can't wait for more!

I *loved* writing that part of the chapter. It's probably the most vivid moment in the story so far that I could picture. I always felt bummed out by the hand Jenny was dealt in the show and I always wanted more of her. She was a joy to write here, even though she's a bit more forward in this story than the show haha.

Lots of longin' with the girls and they'll have their chance to explore that some more - soon! - but not this chapter coming haha

“Poker is easy when you have too much money. You can take more risks when you don’t care, as a result you win more hands.

According to him, he went off to sell their latest batch of moonshine and by the time he came back some rich woman had died at their camp, all hell broke loose and everyone had disappeared.

So I presume that Jenny with "too much money" is the rich lady who will die at their camp. She'll probably get killed by some gang member (not Giles, I trust).

That Jonathan is Buffy's (probably only?) friend surprised me as well. Nice twist. I hope he won't get killed in your story.

He smirked back, clearly happy to see his friend. Elizabeth took a second to see fading scars on his face, and a slightly haunted look deep in his eyes, one she recognised in her own.

“When did you get out?” she asked him quietly, losing her smile.

“About the same time as you” he responded, purposely averting his gaze from hers.

“Good. I’m glad. I wanted to get you out too but… I just… I didn’t know how…” Jonny put his hands on hers when he saw the guilt stretch across her face.

“No, no, none of that. You did what you had to do. You survived. So did I.” he looked at her with pain but understanding, strengthening his grip on her hands to convey his feelings.

“He’s still looking for you, you know” he added, darkly.

“Oh trust me. I know.” she responded, matching his tone.

So before Giles found Elizabeth again as a teenager, she and Jonathan (and probably other kids and teens) were forced to live with and probably do illegal work for some bad guy? Obviously not Wilkins - my bet is on Ethan Rayne.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Willow asked from the doorway, wounded eyes tracing Tara’s form.

Tara shrugged, refusing to lift her head to see the woman, and tried to deflect the conversation.

“I’ve j-j-just been w-working, the horses n-needed cleaning and - “

Willow had crossed the gap between them during Tara’s stuttered response, and stood directly in front of her.

“Please. Look at me.” Willow softly demanded, placing her finger under Tara’s chin, and lightly pulling her chin upward.

Tara allowed her head to be lifted, and finally locked eyes with Willow.

As soon as their eyes locked, Willow boldly stepped forward and covered Tara’s lips with her own, the hand still grasping Tara’s chin slid upwards to cradle her cheek as she let out the passion she had been wallowing in for the last few days.

Willow had been frustrated for a long time with her work and her emotions. All of the secrets, the complication of her situation, and her feelings for this woman had constantly left her with an ache, and when Tara had kissed her those few short days before, Willow had felt something inside of her uncurl.
The fire for adventure that had brought her to Sunnydale in the first place had been fanned, and she was sick of being naive and cowardly. One kiss had made her realise that she needed to be brave for herself and towards those around her.

So she decided they needed to speak, and if she needed to be the one to break the ice then so be it.

Admittedly, she hadn’t envisioned kissing Tara immediately but as soon as she saw her eyes, she could not help herself.

Tara took only a second to register Willow’s lips pressed firmly against hers, and could no longer deny herself. She acted on pure instinct, her hand reached out to softly grab the back of Willow’s head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, and pressing her lips back against Willows. She let her tongue poke out slightly to trace Willow’s lips between passes, and heard the red head make a small, adorable sound in her throat.

Spurred on by Tara’s eagerness, Willow found herself pushing Tara against a nearby beam in the stable, pressing her body against Tara’s and allowing her thigh to rest between the woman’s legs.

With a passion neither had experienced before, or remotely understood, they clumsily pushed against each other, leaving fast, bruising kisses against each other’s lips, allowing their hands to run over each other's bodies in frantic, unplanned movements.

Yay for Willow's bravery to seek Tara out and initiate the kiss! I just hope they'll have the opportunity to privately talk about their feelings for each other in the next chapter after Willow returns from visiting Giles.

Jenny - Yeaaah, it's not really hidden, she's totally the dead rich lady. Her death causes a lot of issues, but I want her to be fleshed out, realistic, so her impact on the story overall makes larger sense.

Jonathan - I was always kind of gutted that they had Jonathan become one of the three. Never really made sense to me, he was an awkward nerd for sure but I feel like Superstar would have taught him enough about messing with magic like that, and he's another character that I wish had had his moment to shine.

As for his relationship with Elizabeth - There's a lot to that side of the story that I've barely touched on yet, and I'm not sure how much focus it will get as this story has massively spiralled out of control size wise from how I initially envisioned it. I do think it's important to Elizabeth's story though, so I will try to work it in. #

The story is getting too big for my humble willow and tara romance beginnings haha

Speaking of the girls, they will get their chance to 'debrief' as it were, but not *quite* yet.

Thanks everyone for continuing to read!

[GrimCityGirl]

AUTHOR NOTES - Hi all! From shirrey's feedback, some of my threads are getting a little lost in the time between chapters, so I'm going to introduce a 'previously...' part for areas that may have been missed and have importance in the chapter about to happen. Let me know if they work / are helpful!

Previously ....

The man watched her for a few more seconds, then strode into the campsite fully, standing behind her.

“My name is Rupert Giles, and I’m a watcher. And you are Elizabeth Summers, a fugitive wanted in 4 states… and the slayer” he softly spoke to her, with eyes full of wonderment and recognition.

Elizabeth finally turned around and looked at the man, in complete confusion and asked thickly around a mouth full of bread.
“What’s a slayer?”

------------------

“The current mayor, Mr Robert Flutie - he’s proving to be a bit squeaky clean. I usually like that but not in a political sense. Anyway, I need to see if there’s any dodgy information I can get on him to help my campaign. He’s a very friendly gentleman but most monsters are. Can you follow him, see what you find out?”

Wilkins handed Angelus a sack of bills as he explained his next work.

Angelus doesn’t even count the money before pocketing it.

“I’ll see what I can do.”




CHAPTER 14

1893

The rain beat down heavily on the forest ground, the force of each drop splashing upwards after they landed, turning the ground into a mess of mud and wet grass.

The sound was louder, harsher against the walls of the small run down cabin that was almost hidden amongst the trees.

Some of the drops managed to find their way through cracks in the roof, allowing their rhythmic pops to bounce off of the surfaces inside the dimly lit building.

Elizabeth was sitting on the floor in front of the dusty fireplace, where a modest flame warmed the room.

With a small pot of stew in her hands, her attention was on the older man sitting on a chair next to the fireplace, reading out loud from a large, worn book.

“Wait, so hang on - I got my powers - and now I have to fight monsters and I don’t get a say in it? Why should I listen to you?”

Giles rolled his eyes at the young girl, briefly closing the book in front of him.

“You are very powerful, Elizabeth. I can’t force you to do anything - of course you have a choice, currently the world doesn’t know you exist and therefore forces such as the Watchers Council cannot intervene, however a lot of people will die if you do not do what only you are able to.”

Elizabeth listened, taking it in, still trying to grasp the concepts being introduced to her.

“The watchers council?” she asked.

“Back in England, there is a group of people called The Watchers Council. They keep information and records on Slayers throughout history, as well as priceless information on all manner of demons and how to fight them. They take part in fighting monsters themselves, but they’re only human so they cannot achieve what you can. They are responsible for finding and training every slayer that exists.”

“But they don’t know about me” Elizabeth clarified, spooning more of the stew into her mouth after her question.

“They do not.” Giles confirmed. His own stew sat on the broken table next to him, completely forgotten.

“How do you know all of this?” she asked through her full mouth.

Giles grimaced a little at her lack of table manners. “Because, I was training to become a Watcher myself, many years ago.”

Elizabeth looked at him suspiciously at that revelation.

“But you haven’t told them about me yet?”

Giles, understanding her wary tone, responded quickly to calm her concerns.

“I have no intention of telling them unless you want them to be told. Truthfully though, I am not in contact with them anymore.”

“How come?”

Giles hesitated. Trying to decide what was best to reveal at this particular moment, wanting to be honest with the girl where he could be, but also being very aware that her age and naivety could cause problems if she knew too much and she may not react well to certain aspects of his past.

“There was an incident. I had a group of friends, we were all in training to join the council but we were also young...reckless… we found the dark arts fascinating.”

His eyes seemed further away as he started to explain, Elizabeth noted the tightening of the lines on his face, wondering what information lay behind his expression.

“Dark arts?”

“Magic” Giles responded simply, finding the girl's incessant quick questions both irritating and an adorable child-like quality he was glad she was able to retain.

“Huh” she said, briefly surprised but with acceptance. She justified to herself that at this point nothing should be a shock anymore.

“We played around with some dangerous stuff and foolishly, one of our group … died. Her father was quite high up in the council, we’d heard stories of just what the council was capable of so, we hopped on a ship to the new world. I am sure I can never return.”

He hadn’t spoken about Diedre in years, still carrying the shame and guilt in him since those days, but he wanted to be as truthful as he could be under the circumstances.

Elizabeth slowly nodded, seemingly to herself. He expected her to be shocked or upset that he was instrumental in someone’s death but she seemed to be taking the news oddly well.

After a few moments of silence, Elizabeth’s enquiring nature showed it’s head again.

“So... where are your friends?”

“Long gone” he responded, feeling no need to elaborate and wishing not to dwell on the past any further.

Elizabeth waited a beat to see if he would continue, but when he remained silent she decided to change the topic slightly.

“So why did you find me?”

Giles paused slightly, hesitating in his response.

“I’d heard rumours of vampires being hunted, I was curious. Seeing you in action… I felt my expertise could help you.”

Despite her reservations, Elizabeth shrugged and smiled at him.

“Well, I’m under a roof and I’m warm and I have some food so, I’m not going to argue with that, bring on the expertise!” she let out a small laugh.

Giles smiled warmly in response, finding the girl charming in her own right.

They sat in silence as she finished her stew. Giles quietly watched her from afar, a million of his own questions pinging around his head that he knew should remain silent.

“Have you been by yourself long?” he asked gently. His curiosity getting the better of him.

“A few months.” she replied simply, not looking at him. Her emotional armour restitching itself around her after her guard was briefly discarded.

“Where are your parents?” he followed up, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice, not wanting her to know that he knew her parents quite well.

She shrugged “A few states away” she commented, not giving much information and continuing to look away from the man, her eyes staring deeper into the fire.

“Don’t you want to be with them?” he pressed slightly. Realising again that she is just a young girl, her faraway expression far too familiar to him.

“I can’t” she said, in an almost whisper, while tears briefly formed in her eyes.

His own eyes misted at her response.

---------------

Sunnydale Church was a tall, white structure, far cleaner than the town it resided in. It’s colour almost blinded in the early morning light, bathing potential visitors with it’s shining symbols of the Almighty.

As a place of worship, and supporter of the poor and weak, it was open to everyone in need.

Literally everyone.

Angelus had snuck into the building right before dawn, keeping himself hidden at the back of the building, keeping his eyes on the front of the church.

He had done some research on Mr. Flutie and he seemed to be quite the common church visitor, passing through its door each morning to take confession.

Angelus had already noted the priest take position in the right side of the confessional, as the front door opened to Mr Flutie calmly walking towards the confessionals' left door.

Sneaking alongside the wall (avoiding pressing against any of the crosses adorning it), he waited for the door to close behind Mr Flutie before quickly reaching into the right door and immediately breaking the priest's neck with one unfortunately audible snap.

“Father, what was that?” Mr Flutie’s melodic and kind voice asked in concern from the other side of the screen.

Angelus silently cursed and then attempted to force a surprisingly convincing American accent.

“Uh, my chair squeaked. It needs to be seen to. I’m sorry my child, please go on.” Angelus held the dead body to him to ensure that the weight of it didn’t push open the door, on the off chance the church had any more early rising visitors.

“Well, father it’s been one day since my last confession, and boy… yesterday was hard”

“The lord can be forgiving, my child, as long as you repent” Angelus commented, wanting to hurry the man up.

“Well, Mrs Randall came in, to talk about an issue with her farm, and she sat down across from me and I… well, I saw a flash of her calf and, and I looked longer than I should have. I’m a married man, father! It is so shameful of me to be distracted by sins of the flesh but Mrs Randall is quite fair… oh it’s no excuse! I am so sorry father.”

Angelus rolled his eyes to himself and briefly wondered if all of his murderous past really warranted this level of boring punishment.

“Now, my child, the wandering eye is unfortunate but you know you made a mistake, you did not act upon it, you’re pure of heart. God understands that. Uh… is that all you want to confess?”

Flutie croaked out a quiet “No” and Angelus paused, hoping Flutie would continue.

“I bought from the grocers and… he gave me more change than he should have, and I didn’t correct him! I’m such a monster.”

Angelus stopped himself from banging his head against the screen.

“I’m sure if you donate the difference to the church collection box, God will forgive you.”

“Wow Father, that’s a wonderful idea! Thank you so much! I better be going, lots of mayoring to do today! Thanks again”

Flutie, free of guilt, walked out of the left side of the confessional and quickly exited the building, after dropping a few coins into the collection box.

Angelus, though frustrated at learning absolutely nothing, checked out the door to ensure no one else was in the church, before heaving the body out into the open.

He found rope in the storage room and hoisted the already dead priest by his neck, tying him from one of the main beams in the ceiling.

He knew anymore bite attacks may attract more attention than he wanted, so faking a suicide was the only logical thing he could come up with for why the town priest was suddenly dead.

Angelus was mad at himself for making such a risky move that resulted in basically no new information - other than Flutie really being as squeaky clean as everyone claimed.

Checking his handy work was convincing enough, Angelus headed down to the basement to hide until the sun went down.

---------------------

After about an hour's ride (Donnie always rode a little fast for Tara or her father’s liking), he and Willow had pulled up outside Giles’s home.

“I’m goin’ to head into town, mind if I just pop back in a couple of hours?” he asked.

Willow nodded, gingerly jumping down from the horse in an attempt at bravery and only mildly fumbled her landing.

She smiled and waved at Donnie as he rode off, and turned towards Giles’s front door.

She knocked, and waited a moment. Hearing a coughing sound behind the door and a brief pause, Giles opened the door slowly.

He looked rougher than Willow remembered from last time. His hair was a little unkempt, the small start of a beard was forming, and he had a paler complexion than her previous visit.

“Are you alright, Professor?” she asked gently.

“Oh, yes. Hello, Willow! Just been feeling a little under the weather.”

He gestured for her to follow him in, and Willow noticed the place was a little less tidy as well. Some dishes had piled up, some rubbish was lying around, it seemed like Giles was having a bad time.

“Is that all it is?” she probed, worrying about this man who seemingly lived alone.

“Yes - yes it is. Sorry, I normally visit with my niece who helps me uh, organise my medicines better but she hasn’t popped by lately.” he dismissed the concern.

“Do you mean Tara Maclay?” she asked, picking up on the ‘niece’ part.

“Yes - do you know Tara?” Giles responded, slightly suspicious of Willow’s knowledge.

“Yes, I’m actually staying at the Maclay ranch.” she offered.

Giles nodded in understanding, remembering Elizabeth filling him in after she had rescued the redhead from the storm. He frowned at the memory of Elizabeth but decided to ignore it.

“Oh that’s lovely, if you could ask Tara to pop by soon I would appreciate it” Giles asked, trying not to sound desperate.

Willow nodded politely, trying to drum up the courage to say what she needed to.

She had decided to visit the professor because she was stuck. Her research, despite being more eye opening closer to Sunnydale, hadn’t resulted in any definitive results and she knew she would get nowhere without taking a risk.

From reading the professor's own work, she had a hunch that this risk was a calculated one - no one could write like he did without some form of belief in the subject matter. Still, it’s definitely a dangerous subject to discuss and she was concerned it would go awry.

“So what brings you here, Miss Rosenberg?” Giles asked, kind of wishing this meeting wouldn’t be a long one.

“I need to talk to you about something, if you can spare the time” she responded, trying to prepare him for a large revelation.

“Of course, you can tell me anything” Giles affirmed.

“Well… you know I’ve been researching the occult, and the attacks here?” she led.

“Yes, you’re quite knowledgeable on the folklore of the supernatural, our correspondence has been very entertaining” he responded, trying to keep to his professor persona he had previously expressed.

“Well, I feel I need to be completely truthful with you. I don’t just do this work out of fascination. As you know I’m writing a book, but it’s not intended to be fiction… I am writing a book in the hopes to prove that these supernatural elements do in fact exist. The truth is, I believe in demons, and vampires, and magic and more. I believe these attacks are not the work of human people. And I believe that something dangerous is happening in the town.”

Willow let out a breath as she finished her piece, feeling relieved to have finally said these feelings out loud, although she was still terrified of what the admission would result in.

Giles looked at Willow for a moment, trying to read her expression for any more deception, and found none.

Willow waited for Giles to look aghast, angry, or even laugh, but his response shocked her beyond belief.

“I can’t say it’ll be a bestseller, but I also can’t say you’re wrong”.

----------------------

Tara had spent minutes staring into space after Willow’s departure, letting the exchange sink in.

She had been terrified of confronting Willow with what had happened, but she had never imagined her feelings would be returned, let alone acted upon.

She could still feel the energy of it all coursing through her veins, warming her from the inside out. It was captivating.

She knew they needed to talk, and that things could potentially get very difficult, but she found herself feeling a form of joy she had never touched before.

She continued her chores, wanting to do something with her hands while her mind wandered, and she started to sing to herself without even realising it.

Dylan walked into the stable with one of Alex’s horses and caught his daughter's performance.

“You’re in a better mood than you have been lately. Finally lettin’ go of what Wilkin’s told ya?” Dylan hoped out loud.

Tara’s face fell from her slight smile as she turned to face him.

“Just because I’m in a cheerier mood doesn’t erase what happened, Daddy. It’s all rather...horrifying. Every time a horse passes the ranch I want to run and hide.”

Dylan felt immediately foolish for even asking.

“I know, I’m sorry. Just glad to see you in higher spirits, that’s all”

Tara simply nodded, and seemed to only then notice the stallion Dylan was leading.

“Is Coal okay?” she asked, gesturing to the horse.

“Ah one of his horseshoes is loose. Think you can keep him calm while I have a look?” Dylan asked.

Tara nodded and moved to the horse's head, brushing Coal slowly along his flank and humming near him.

He immediately calmed from the magic coursing through her tones, keeping himself still as Dylan lifted his back left foot.

“Ah that’s it, one of the nails came out. Easy fix, don’t need to visit the blacksmith, thank Christ”.

Dylan went to the tooling station in the corner of the stable and pulled out a hammer and a nail, returning with a small stool that he sat on, placing the horse's bent leg between his own so he could replace the nail.

Tara continued to hum for the horse, needing him to keep still.

“Speaking of not being able to afford the black smith, how is paying back Mr Wilkins going?” Tara enquired.

Dylan’s shoulders sagged slightly in shame. “You shouldn’t worry about that.” he responded, trying to dismiss the discussion.

“Considering I was almost payment, I think worrying about it is the least I can do” she responded, in a rare form of anger for her nature. Coal seemed to react to this emotional shift and he started to snort and shake his head.

Tara went back to smoothing his flank and calmed him back down, and soon the horse was still again.

“Maybe I can help, Daddy. A lot of local businesses know about my way with animals, maybe I can pop by some, see if they want my help, means I can help us pay him back faster.” she offered.

“You’ve never charged for that before” Dylan said, finishing with the nail and allowing Coal to put his foot back down, his shoe as good as new.

“I never needed to, but maybe it’s about time. I even have some medicinal herbs I can try selling to the doctor too. It’s okay to get help from us, Daddy. We all live here too.”

She walked towards her father and hugged him, wanting him to understand that she still loved him despite this mishap, and that she wanted to help where she could.

Although it pained him to accept it, he knew she was right and he didn’t want her to go through another scare, so he hugged her back without argument.

“Your mom would be so proud of you” he whispered as he held her, a lone tear falling down his cheek.

--------------

1878

The hour was so late it could be considered early, as Rupert walked quietly towards his tent, across the camp grounds.

Most of the camp seemed to be asleep or minding their own business, but before he could reach his bed, a woman quietly called out.

“You dirty stop out, where have you been?”

He turned to see Meredith, sat on a log next to a campfire, holding a sleeping Tara to her chest, clearly tuckered out from a recent feed.

Despite her question, Meredith was smiling at him with a twinkle in her eye.

Rupert sighed to himself and then sat next to the mother, smiling as he did so.

“Why precisely should I tell you? You’re not my mother, you know” he commented, with a slight look at the sleeping baby.

“Well mother or not, I care about you, so tell me… how was your date?” she nudged him with her shoulder slightly, trying not to wiggle too much with the child in her arms.

“It was… strange. Miss Calendar is a challenging woman. She has all this money, this high society life, but she wants to go to the roughest saloons and watch fights.”

Rupert used a dismissive tone, waving his hand nonchalantly. Meredith saw right through it.

“You’re falling in love with her”. She smiled at him sadly as she said it.

“Don’t be absurd. I’m just spending time with her to find opportunities to learn about her father’s affairs that we can exploit. She’s fair, and entertaining, but there’s nothing more to it than that.” Rupert denied.

“Uh huh. You can’t lie to me, Rupert. I know that look, we all do. At least this time the girl is actually available”.

Rupert looked at her painfully.

“How is she doing?” he said, embracing the subject despite himself.

“She’s hard to read. Hank’s been downing moonshine like his life depends on it. She doesn’t smile when he’s around… but that baby girl? Joyce’s smile lights up lookin’ at lil Beth”

Rupert nodded sadly to himself.

“Do you know? If she’s… you know” Meredith asked, lowering her voice further.

Rupert looked at her confused “Do I know what?” he asked.

“Is she yours?” Meredith looked him deep in the eyes as she said it.

“How did you - “ Rupert started to ask, but Meredith held up her hand to cut him off.

“You’ve loved her since the first day you came to us. She’s clearly felt something too, and since she got pregnant the pair of you can barely stand to be in the same space, or even look at each other. Have you even held the baby?” Meredith pushed.

“Does everyone know?” Rupert asked, alarmed.

“No. I’ve never heard it discussed, I just put two and two together.” Meredith tried to assure him.

“Have you told Dylan?” Rupert asked.

“Oh, you know he’s not one for gossip. I’ve kept it to myself”.

“Thank you. I don’t know if… I mean, how would we know?” he asked, simply. His eyes landed on the Summers tent.

“I don’t know, Rupert. I’m sorry.” she leaned over and kissed his cheek softly to console him.

After a silent moment, Rupert timidly asked “Can I hold Tara?”.

“Of course” Meredith smiled and gingerly handed Tara over to him, realising he wanted to feel closeness to a child, even if it wasn’t his own.

He breathed in the baby’s scent, and held her close in his arms, rocking slightly. Her face formed a small frown and she wriggled a little at the exchange, but quickly settled.

Softly, keeping his voice low, he began to sing to the child, as his eyes misted at the thought of all he was missing out on.

“Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Din, don, din. Din, don, din.”

Meredith watched him and silently thanked her daughter for giving Rupert the peace to have this moment.

END OF CHAPTER 14

[Will's redemption]

Dibs!
So Giles might be Beth's father? I didn't see that coming!

“Where are your parents?” he followed up, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice, not wanting her to know that he knew her parents quite well.

She shrugged “A few states away” she commented, not giving much information and continuing to look away from the man, her eyes staring deeper into the fire.

“Don’t you want to be with them?” he pressed slightly. Realising again that she is just a young girl, her faraway expression far too familiar to him.

“I can’t” she said, in an almost whisper, while tears briefly formed in her eyes.

Doesn't sound as if her parents are dead. I'm wondering why she can't be with them - are they in prison or were they (or her dad alone) mistreating her so she had to run away?

He looked rougher than Willow remembered from last time. His hair was a little unkempt, the small start of a beard was forming, and he had a paler complexion than her previous visit.

“Are you alright, Professor?” she asked gently.

“Oh, yes. Hello, Willow! Just been feeling a little under the weather.”

He gestured for her to follow him in, and Willow noticed the place was a little less tidy as well. Some dishes had piled up, some rubbish was lying around, it seemed like Giles was having a bad time.

“Is that all it is?” she probed, worrying about this man who seemingly lived alone.

“Yes - yes it is. Sorry, I normally visit with my niece who helps me uh, organise my medicines better but she hasn’t popped by lately.” he dismissed the concern.

So Tara's prolonged absence is bad for Giles' health? Is she doing some healing magic with / for him - maybe even (partially) subconsiously on her part?

“Well, I feel I need to be completely truthful with you. I don’t just do this work out of fascination. As you know I’m writing a book, but it’s not intended to be fiction… I am writing a book in the hopes to prove that these supernatural elements do in fact exist. The truth is, I believe in demons, and vampires, and magic and more. I believe these attacks are not the work of human people. And I believe that something dangerous is happening in the town.”

Willow let out a breath as she finished her piece, feeling relieved to have finally said these feelings out loud, although she was still terrified of what the admission would result in.

Giles looked at Willow for a moment, trying to read her expression for any more deception, and found none.

Willow waited for Giles to look aghast, angry, or even laugh, but his response shocked her beyond belief.

“I can’t say it’ll be a bestseller, but I also can’t say you’re wrong”.

I'm curious how much Giles will reveal to Willow. I'm also wondering if your Willow has some (dormant) magical abilities of her own that she'll discover in the future of your story.

“Maybe I can help, Daddy. A lot of local businesses know about my way with animals, maybe I can pop by some, see if they want my help, means I can help us pay him back faster.” she offered.

“You’ve never charged for that before” Dylan said, finishing with the nail and allowing Coal to put his foot back down, his shoe as good as new.

“I never needed to, but maybe it’s about time. I even have some medicinal herbs I can try selling to the doctor too. It’s okay to get help from us, Daddy. We all live here too.”

She walked towards her father and hugged him, wanting him to understand that she still loved him despite this mishap, and that she wanted to help where she could.

Although it pained him to accept it, he knew she was right and he didn’t want her to go through another scare, so he hugged her back without argument.

“Your mom would be so proud of you” he whispered as he held her, a lone tear falling down his cheek.

I'm glad that Dylan allowed himself to show his affection and pride for Tara and seems willing to accept her offer to help as well.

[shirrey]

I love the intimate, almost quiet setting you set up for Buffy and Giles' talk- and seeing the start of their relationship. Clever linking Deirdre's death with the Council (this was you and not canon right? either way it works!)

I said this to you already but the humor in the Angelus/ Flutie scene was great and a nice lightening of the mood without taking us out of the story

It's really cool to see how you are fleshing out these characters- I am so impressed how you handle all of them and still make heir growth natural and well timed and like we are seeing a family formed.

Loved Willow's knowledge of the supernatural and Tara starting to use her witchcraft more vocationally- and of course the two of them falling in love

The Giles and Meredith scene was really sweet and shows a deep level of care and familiarity between them - esp him holding baby Tara - generations of linkage here

[Laragh]

The plot thickens...as it always does! You really are great at getting so much across in just little snapshots in time. I'm very intrigued about Giles + Elizabeth...I wonder if Tara can conjure something to tell if he's really her father? Either way, it's very interesting to find out.

Meredith seems like a lovely woman, I'm so sorry Willow will never get to meet her. Still, she'll see her through Tara.

I look forward to seeing Tara going into town to work and perhaps she and Willow working together on something or other.

Happy New Year!

[GrimCityGirl]

Dibs!
So Giles might be Beth's father? I didn't see that coming!

Hello!

Giles may be Beth's dad - Indeed! I'm glad it wasn't obvious, There's more to come with that bag of worms.

Regarding her parents - there's a lot to unpack there, we will get there eventually

Giles's health - all shall be revealed (some of it probably in the chapter following the one i'm about to post)

Willow's magic - Willow is, hilariously, the most mysterious character to me. I have most of the overarching story plot points and character info planned out but Willow is the one that is a constant mystery to me. So honestly who knows haha

Dylan - Yeah he can be stubborn but above all he loves his kids and that's what I'm hoping comes across.

Thanks for your continued reading!

I love the intimate, almost quiet setting you set up for Buffy and Giles' talk- and seeing the start of their relationship. Clever linking Deirdre's death with the Council (this was you and not canon right? either way it works!)

I said this to you already but the humor in the Angelus/ Flutie scene was great and a nice lightening of the mood without taking us out of the story

It's really cool to see how you are fleshing out these characters- I am so impressed how you handle all of them and still make heir growth natural and well timed and like we are seeing a family formed.

Loved Willow's knowledge of the supernatural and Tara starting to use her witchcraft more vocationally- and of course the two of them falling in love

The Giles and Meredith scene was really sweet and shows a deep level of care and familiarity between them - esp him holding baby Tara - generations of linkage here

Deirdre's death in this circumstance is not canon, no. She's one of the tattoo'd lot that gets killed by that demon. which is also where Philip Henry comes into it.

The whole Ethan Rayne, Giles and crew thing is something I wanted to include and Deirdre's death is quite important to the story as a whole. we'll get to that eventually.

The Flutie/Angelus scene was one of the most fun parts I've written so far, and I hope I can add more humorous moments like that going forward.

I like giving Meredith a voice, and not just "Tara's mother was perfect" vibes that you get from some fics. She's a complicated character in her own right and I want her to have opportunities to 'exist' in the fic even if it's only in the past.

Thanks for being the best beta ever!

The plot thickens...as it always does! You really are great at getting so much across in just little snapshots in time. I'm very intrigued about Giles + Elizabeth...I wonder if Tara can conjure something to tell if he's really her father? Either way, it's very interesting to find out.

Meredith seems like a lovely woman, I'm so sorry Willow will never get to meet her. Still, she'll see her through Tara.

I look forward to seeing Tara going into town to work and perhaps she and Willow working together on something or other.

Happy New Year!

There's a lot of Willow and Tara elements to come but the story keeps pulling them apart which wasn't my intention but probably adds to the build up so let's call it a happy accident.

Thanks for continuing to read and respond, I really appreciate it.

[GrimCityGirl]

UPDATE!

Notes - Wow it's been a hot minute! Christmas, an incident with a vegetable peeler and some minor writers block made getting a new chapter out difficult, so I hope ya'll forgive the delay!

Previously...

“When did you get out?” she asked him quietly, losing her smile.

“About the same time as you” he responded, purposely averting his gaze from hers.

“Good. I’m glad. I wanted to get you out too but… I just… I didn’t know how…” Jonny put his hands on hers when he saw the guilt stretch across her face.

“No, no, none of that. You did what you had to do. You survived. So did I.” he looked at her with pain but understanding, strengthening his grip on her hands to convey his feelings.

“He’s still looking for you, you know” he added, darkly.

“Oh trust me. I know.” she responded, matching his tone.

...

"...The truth is, I believe in demons, and vampires, and magic and more. I believe these attacks are not the work of human people. And I believe that something dangerous is happening in the town.”

Willow let out a breath as she finished her piece, feeling relieved to have finally said these feelings out loud, although she was still terrified of what the admission would result in.

Giles looked at Willow for a moment, trying to read her expression for any more deception, and found none.

Willow waited for Giles to look aghast, angry, or even laugh, but his response shocked her beyond belief.

“I can’t say it’ll be a bestseller, but I also can’t say you’re wrong”.



CHAPTER 15


1889

On a beautiful warm day in southern Oregon, an unknown town was bustling through it’s usual routine. Wagons rode through the mud at gentle speeds, people shopped and chatted happily amongst themselves, newspapers were sold on the corners and the smell of fresh bread, tobacco and horses were thick in the air.

A 12 year old girl, thin in raggedy stained clothing, stood on the corner. She would smile and wave at anyone who passed, asking if anyone could spare her some coins.

After hours in the baking sun, the girl's enthusiasm started to wane, but she powered through trying to get any attention she could from the passers by that would only give her looks of contempt as they walked on.

The girl sat in defeat on the street's edge with a dirty hat at her feet, hoping someone would take pity on her, when a large shadow slowly grew over her vulnerable form.

A priest stepped forward and handed the girl some bread.

“Girl, why are you all alone?” He asked, in a subtle accent she could not quite place.

Happy to have the bread but still quite defensive, the girl looked up.

“What’s it to you?” she responded.

“My child, you are too young to be by yourself, livin’ on the streets like a vagrant. You know, I could help you get out of this life”

His tone was friendly and warm as he stood over her, his voice soothing her exhausted mind.

“That’s sweet, mister, but why should I trust you?” she asked, trying to keep herself safe at all costs.

“Why my child, I’m a man of God! My entire purpose on this earth is to serve the people of the Lord. I would be shirkin’ my duty completely if I could pass up one of God’s children in such hard times. I have a sort of ‘family’ nearby. People, food, clean and dry clothing and safe places to sleep. We even have some children around your age. Come with me, and I will keep you safe child, you have my word on that.”

She was so tired.

She stood, and smiled warily at the tall man, his form blocking out the sun's rays to her.

“Okay, sir. Thank you. My name is Elizabeth, what’s yours?” she held out her hand for him to shake.

He took her hand, and he smiled with less warmth than she expected.

“My name is Caleb”.

—------------------------------

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” Willow asked Giles in shock.

“No, I don’t. Because you’re not. You’re actually remarkably astute for someone who hasn’t had any direct contact with the supernatural” he responded, his tone even, almost sounding bored.

“You... you’ve seen it? You believe?” She asked incredulously, believing this whole time she was alone in this and potentially going mad.

She was amazed at how well this conversation was going.

“Yes. I know quite a bit, actually. Sadly you’re not really the first, by any stretch, to have these theories but I have to tell you… your book isn’t going to go anywhere.” He told her, almost sadly.

“How would you know, you haven’t read it” she replied defensively.

He shook his head and put his hand on hers.

“I mean no offense. There are agencies out there that know about this side of the world and they have no intention of that information being available to the public. Your book, Miss Rosenberg, would be silenced. Either by shady tactics to stop sales or by… more concerning intervention.” he implied awkwardly.

“You think I’m in danger” she commented.

“I do” he confirmed.

“People should know, it could save lives” she defended, thinking of all of the recent victims and the potential thousands of people who have died at the hands of these no longer mythical monsters.

“Is that worth your own life? That risk? Knowing that the likelihood of it being read is quite low?” he pushed.

“I moved out here, I spent a lot of money, I can’t just drop it and move back home” she responded, but slowly realising he had a very good point.

“Oh I wouldn’t suggest such a thing.” he commented, his tone continuing it’s deadpan nature. She looked at him confused.

He looked at her confusion and softened his expression.
“Trying to get the book published in a traditional sense could very easily get you killed, however the book, as you’ve described it, could be very helpful to those at risk, and maybe if we found a way to produce it ourselves we could make it available to those who need it.” He offered, thinking of the various circles that could benefit from a copy of such a book that would need to be out of the Watchers grasp.

“I’m listening”.

—-----------------

The saloon was getting rowdy, men gathered round tables spilling beer everywhere and laughing, some shouting, the occasional arm wrestle or game of finger fillet being played around her as she nursed a beer at the bar.

She had been wandering for a while trying to pick up more leads but was failing miserably, and was working out if it was too soon to drop back in on Jonny and see if he’d found anything yet.

Two men in the corner of the room were staring at her back.

She stood from her stool and started walking to the bathroom. At her movement, one of the men silently nodded to the other, folding up the poster in his hand that he was checking.

They both started to follow her steps, careful to keep their movements quiet but keeping her in sight.

As she was close to the restroom door, the man behind her on the left made the mistake of reaching for the lasso around his waist, the slight brushed movement enough to alert her to their proximity and assume their intentions.

She quickly twisted around and grabbed the wrist that rested on the lasso, spinning the man around and pushing his arm against his own back, close to breaking point.

The other man immediately went for his gun and the bar suddenly silenced.

“What do you want?” she questioned the man she held painfully and completely ignored his gun toting accomplice who had his revolver aimed at her head.

The man she held squirmed and yelped in pain before responding.

“There’s a good price on your head, we’re just doin’ our job!” the fellow bounty hunter replied.

She looked over and saw that the other hunter had a wanted poster in his hand, she quickly threw the man she held into the other one and grabbed the poster from his person.

She ran into the restroom and jumped through the window, whistling frantically for Faith as she did so.

Faith ran alongside the saloon at break neck speed and Elizabeth jumped on quickly before the men could recover.

She pushed Faith to ride full speed for twenty minutes until she was confident she had escaped.

Only then did she slow down, jump off her horse and open the wanted poster.

There staring back at her was a crude drawing of her face, with the following words.

“Elizabeth Summers,
Guilty of grevious bodily harm, attempted murder, arson, and theft
Wanted ALIVE - reward amount is $300”

Tears started to form in the young woman’s eyes.

“He’ll never let me go”

—-------------

The Bronze Star was lively with its usual afternoon clientele. Some were eating their lunch, many were just having a beer and chatting away, some discussing the sudden suicide of their beloved priest.

In the corner of the room a group of men were playing poker, smoking and laughing as they played through their hands.

The empty chair at the table was suddenly filled by Donnie.

“What’s the buy in?” he asked, looking uncomfortable and on edge.

Opposite him a man in a cowboy hat pushed the brim up slightly and his face briefly flashed pleasant surprise and recognition before morphing back in general interest.

After a beat of odd staring that Donnie found unnerving, the man spoke with an english accent.

“Two dollars”.

Donnie hesitated but eventually took out two dollars and put them on the table, pulling his chips towards him.

After a few rounds that Donnie folded each hand of, he was suddenly the ‘big blind’ and had to put money on the table.

“You’re going to have to play now, chap” The englishman told him with a slight smirk.

Donnie ‘checked’ and the Englishman raised 50c. Donnie called, and the others folded.

“Ah, just us” he remarked, continuing to smirk at Donnie.

The ‘flop’ was delivered on the table revealing the ace of spades, the 3 of hearts and the 7 of clubs.

Donnie immediately checked, not wanting to up the ante.

The Englishman smirked again and raised 50c and Donnie called.

The ‘Turn’ was dealt, and an extra card emerged, showing the 4 of diamonds.

Again Donnie checked and the Englishman raised and Donnie called.

The others on the table looked on at the intensity of the game unfolding, assuming this young man was about to lose everything.

The ‘River’ is dealt, displaying the final card - the ace of diamonds.

Donnie checked.

The Englishman snorted “I am all in, my boy”. And pushed his remaining chips into the center.

Donnie showed no reaction on his face, and said “call” while pushing his chips to join the other man’s.

“I admire your spirit but, I’m afraid I’ve got trips” showing his ace high hand and going for the chips.

The others on the table let out an “Oof” thinking the man had clearly won.

Donnie put one hand on the chips stopping the man's movements, and held up his other palm, showing his cards.

“Pocket 3s. Full house. I win” only then did his face change into a smirk, feeling proud at beating the smug man.

Instead of anger, the man smiled and muttered under his breath “You’re just like your old man”, but Donnie missed the comment, engaging in the celebrations of the men surrounding him.

Donnie pulled all the chips towards him and seemed pleased with himself.

“Well you earned it, my boy. Fair and square. What’s your name?” the Englishman asked.

“Donnie” he responded, the man nodded, pretending this was news to him.

“You play a bad hand well. What brought you to our table today?” he asked.

“I need some money, this seemed like the fastest way to get it” Donnie remarked, finding no need to be dishonest.

Ethan Rayne smirked once more.

“There’s other ways”

END OF CHAPTER 15

[Will's redemption]

Dibs!
Uff, so Caleb is the guy who forced Beth and Jonny (and probably many others) into criminal deeds when they were kids - that's bad news!

She pushed Faith to ride full speed for twenty minutes until she was confident she had escaped.

Only then did she slow down, jump off her horse and open the wanted poster.

There staring back at her was a crude drawing of her face, with the following words.

“Elizabeth Summers,
Guilty of grevious bodily harm, attempted murder, arson, and theft
Wanted ALIVE - reward amount is $300”

Tears started to form in the young woman’s eyes.

“He’ll never let me go”

Considering that Buffy works as a bounty hunter herself and obviously didn't have any trouble in this position before I assume that this wanted poster must be brand new. So the question is: why now, years after she escaped Caleb's clutches?

“You play a bad hand well. What brought you to our table today?” he asked.

“I need some money, this seemed like the fastest way to get it” Donnie remarked, finding no need to be dishonest.

Ethan Rayne smirked once more.

“There’s other ways”

And more bad news, poor innocent Donnie in danger of being pulled into some illegal business by Ethan Rayne.

The plot thickens more and more... I just hope you'll soon have time and space for some nice Willow / Tara interaction among all those plot threats - because I want smoochies!

[Laragh]

I second the call for smoochies I am actually very much enjoying the wild west tale, more than I ever thought I would (I think I really like the shorter chapters in this regard) but yes! We demand a smoochie payment!

We won't beat up anyone or make threats though, we'll just pine and give you puppy dog eyes!

Well done on pushing through and getting a chapter done - it was really good. I'm really impressed by how you set scenes with just a few words and explain things like the poker without it feeling clinical.

And I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I laugh every time I imagine Faith as the horse

[shirrey]

I second Laragh's giggles whenever reading about Buffy riding Faith- every time


I love how you are winding this story- adding component after component, and still keeping it understandable. It will be really cool when it all comes together.

I do miss Tara though - but I know you have plans

[GrimCityGirl]

Dibs!
Uff, so Caleb is the guy who forced Beth and Jonny (and probably many others) into criminal deeds when they were kids - that's bad news!

She pushed Faith to ride full speed for twenty minutes until she was confident she had escaped.

Only then did she slow down, jump off her horse and open the wanted poster.

There staring back at her was a crude drawing of her face, with the following words.

“Elizabeth Summers,
Guilty of grevious bodily harm, attempted murder, arson, and theft
Wanted ALIVE - reward amount is $300”

Tears started to form in the young woman’s eyes.

“He’ll never let me go”

Considering that Buffy works as a bounty hunter herself and obviously didn't have any trouble in this position before I assume that this wanted poster must be brand new. So the question is: why now, years after she escaped Caleb's clutches?

“You play a bad hand well. What brought you to our table today?” he asked.

“I need some money, this seemed like the fastest way to get it” Donnie remarked, finding no need to be dishonest.

Ethan Rayne smirked once more.

“There’s other ways”

And more bad news, poor innocent Donnie in danger of being pulled into some illegal business by Ethan Rayne.

The plot thickens more and more... I just hope you'll soon have time and space for some nice Willow / Tara interaction among all those plot threats - because I want smoochies!

Yeah Caleb is real bad, bad news unfortunately.

BUT I am succumbing to pressure, this next chapter is mostly Willow / Tara goodness.

I second the call for smoochies I am actually very much enjoying the wild west tale, more than I ever thought I would (I think I really like the shorter chapters in this regard) but yes! We demand a smoochie payment!

We won't beat up anyone or make threats though, we'll just pine and give you puppy dog eyes!

Well done on pushing through and getting a chapter done - it was really good. I'm really impressed by how you set scenes with just a few words and explain things like the poker without it feeling clinical.

And I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I laugh every time I imagine Faith as the horse

The Faith horse thing was initially a throw away joke but the more I wrote the more sense it made, she could totally be a kick ass bounty hunter horse!

I noticed a lot of comments for smoochies so I'm paying up, no beating up needed!

I second Laragh's giggles whenever reading about Buffy riding Faith- every time


I love how you are winding this story- adding component after component, and still keeping it understandable. It will be really cool when it all comes together.

I do miss Tara though - but I know you have plans

Yeah Tara has quite a role to play yet but it's hard to juggle all the elements coming into motion, but I'm working on it.

Thanks for your awesome support as per usual Shirrey

[GrimCityGirl]

UPDATE - This is basically a total Willow/Tara chapter because I succumb to peer pressure. You're welcome! This was going to be happening soon anyway but I rejigged the chapters around so ya'll could get your fix sooner rather than later.


CHAPTER 16


1898

The streets were quiet in West Adams, South Los Angeles. The newly built mansions almost shone in their crisp exteriors amongst the lamp lighting, not yet textured from the sands of time.

The night blanketed the area in a warm darkness, engulfing its surroundings apart from where the lamp light fell.

On an upstairs balcony, Willow sat in a not entirely comfortable chair in her nightgown, reading a novel with the faint glow from a candlestick on the table next to her.

The eerie silence around her suddenly broke with what she presumed was a couple arguing.

Her gaze lifted from her current page and looked out into the night, to see two figures struggling on a street corner, just near enough to a lamp post to be illuminated.

Willow was about to shake her head and return to her novel, presuming a lovers quarrel, when she heard one of the figures let out a blood curdling scream.

Her eyes immediately fell back to the pair and she witnessed a monstrous face plunging it’s fangs into the woman's neck, violently draining her of her blood and forcing her body to remain still.

Willow gasped, almost inaudibly, but it was enough.

Suddenly the monster’s eyes lurched upwards and locked with Willow’s, staring coldly into her while it continued to drink.

Willow scrambled backwards, away from the balcony edge, to run into the safety of her bedroom and quickly shut the balcony door. She locked it, but could still see the monster staring at her through the glass.

“What the hell is that?” Willow finally muttered to herself.

—----------------------------

Donnie and Willow rode back from Giles’s ranch in complete silence, both lost in thought.

Donnie had knocked to pick Willow back up and took one look at his uncle and immediately felt concerned for his well being.

As they arrived back at the ranch, Tara walked up to meet them. Donnie aided Willow’s descent from the mount, and then turned to his sister.

“Uncle Giles is lookin’ rough Tara. You visited lately?” He asked, concern etched on his face.

Tara immediately felt a wave of guilt, knowing that between the attack and her distraction of Willow she hadn’t visited in quite a while.

“I will go tomorrow” she responded, deciding she needed to check in on him.

Donnie nodded in agreement “Good. I’ll go wash up before dinner” he nodded at Willow as well and then walked back towards the house.

Willow and Tara stared at each other for a brief moment, the silence engulfing them.

After a beat, Tara realised something.

“You saw my uncle?” She asked her, curiously.

“Yes. Although I didn’t know he was your uncle” Willow responded truthfully.

Tara nodded, not getting the elaboration she expected, and the silence returned.

The need to break the tension swallowed them both and accidentally at the same time they said.

“We need to talk.”

The simultaneous comment made them both giggle at their own awkwardness.

“I h-have to get dinner started soon but, we should…” Tara hesitated, not wanting to put Willow off but knowing her chores needed to be seen to.

“I’ll try not to take too long, I just… I need…” Willow struggled to get her words out, desperately wanting them to address what was happening.

Tara recognised Willow’s fluster and knew leaving the air that tense any longer wouldn’t help either of them. She looked around to check no one could see or overhear them.

“I know. Let’s go to your cabin.”

The girls walked in silence towards Willow’s cabin, hoping no one would be paying them much of any attention. They did not look at each other, for fear of causing anymore discomfort.

As they entered the cabin, Willow closed the door behind Tara and then sat on the bed, gesturing for Tara to join her.

Tara sat, and immediately started wringing her hands slightly and bouncing in trepidation for whatever was about to occur.

“This is all… rather unexpected” Willow started, eyeing Tara intently.

Tara laughed despite herself in a slight giggle that made Willow smile and her heart thump a little harder.

“I know this isn’t um, normal… but I just need to be honest, and I think I need to be brave. All I’ve done since I left home is be brave and I’m not about to stop now. Can you be brave with me?” Willow asked her softly, her eyes shining with vulnerability and hope.

“Y-Yes. I can b-be brave.” Tara responded, matching Willow’s expression.

Willow paused for herself and sighed, feeling like what she was about to say could change her life forever, and finding it odd that this was the second potentially life threatening conversation she’d be having in one day.

“I have feelings for you. I don’t know what they are, or what they mean, but I can’t stop thinking about you and… and kissing you is the best thing I’ve ever felt. I know it’s… wrong… but it doesn’t feel wrong, to me.”

Willow stared at her, her heart racing as the words came out of her mouth. She watched Tara’s silent reaction with worry etched onto her features.

As Tara’s silence stretched on, Willow continued.

“I don’t want to scare you but, I think you feel similarly…if the kissing is anything to go by… but if I’m wrong I can leave tomorrow, and I won’t bother you again.”

Willow started getting a little teary eyed, knowing leaving was the last thing she’d want to do, but not wanting to hurt the woman in front of her.

Tara slowly put her hand on Willow’s own, resting on Willow’s knee. Their eyes locked as Tara tried to steady her nerves to respond.

“You’re not w-wrong. I feel it too.”

Willow’s eyes lit up and she smiled in relief and excitement. They smiled at each other in mutual acceptance.

“So what do we do?” Willow asked after the silence set back in between them.

Tara looked out the window for a second.

“Well unfortunately I um, I think I need to head h-home to start dinner but… after…”

“After?” Willow interrupted, eagerly.

“We could talk more… “ Tara offered, her face subtly moving closer to Willow’s of its own accord.

“Talk” Willow confirmed, while matching Tara’s forward trajectory. They both looked deeply into each other's eyes as they came closer and suddenly their lips pulled together with a magnetic force.

While their previous kisses were more primal and desperate, this was slower, sensual but firm. Instead of being led by confusion, or pain, or lust, they were led by the excitement of their discovery of each other, and the relief that comes with requitement. Their lips said hello, moving gracefully across each other in small movements at first, while hands started to slowly caress sides.

The calming exploration turned carnal as Willow’s tongue poked out to play, brushing against Tara’s bottom lip, begging for entry.

Tara opened her lips slightly to allow her in and started to move her own against Willow’s in a slow, burning dance.

The deep kiss caused time to stop for them briefly, but eventually Tara’s sense of family duty won out over her hormones.

She pulled them apart with a slight audible “pop”.

“D-dinner” she muttered, standing and smoothing her trousers and shirt out.

“Yes” Willow agreed, smirking a little at Tara and grinning widely when Tara smiled back. She also smoothed out her dress and checked her hair was still in place as to avoid suspicion.

“Would you like help with dinner?”

They smiled at each other again.

—---------------------

The smell of warm home cooking filtered through the bottom level of the Maclay home. Willow had aided Tara with chopping and peeling vegetables while Tara prepared the meat and cooked the stew. They worked in tandem, not saying a word but taking any opportunity to slightly touch the other on the arm or the small of the back, and smiling at each other whenever they locked eyes.

The air was light and exciting between them but they knew that it needed to be kept quiet, as the world was not ready for a relationship like theirs.

Willow started to put out bowls while Tara brought over a stew pot and a separate plate of bread slices for the table to share.

At almost exactly 6pm, Dylan came in from the front door while Donnie strolled down from his room with a cleaner face and fresh shirt.

“Ah, rabbit stew. Lovely, thank you kindly” Dylan remarked smiling at his daughter and nodding at Willow.

The family took their usual seats and started to serve themselves when the door opened and Alex came bustling in.

“Sorry I’m late, was doing a short delivery run, is there enough for me?” he asked with a boyish grin, directed at Tara.

Tara smiled at him in amusement, and served him a full bowl.

“I always make sure there’s enough for you” she told him as she handed it over, and he smiled at her in gratitude.

Willow resisted the urge to scowl at the exchange, feeling too happy with how things are going to give into jealousy.

They all ate in relative silence, the table full apart from the obvious vacant seat of Meredith Maclay, which remained empty every evening Willow had spent there.

Donnie chatted to Alex about any work going in the neighboring towns he’d been delivering in with a slight air of urgency but Alex told him he’d heard nothing but will keep an ear out.

Dylan sat quietly throughout the meal, knowing he should be concerned regarding their financial woes but mostly feeling proud of his children for trying to help out, he gave them both an affectionate look, that each of them returned but did not comment on.

Willow and Tara kept silent but occasionally stole glances at each other, eager for the meal to be over so they could talk more.

Tara rested her hand slightly on Willow’s thigh under the table, causing Willow to pause in her meal and side eye Tara with a heated look.

Tara responded with a squeeze of her thigh, and a returned gaze.

Alex took this moment to thank Tara and Willow for the meal and ask if anyone wanted a drink, before rising to get him and Donnie a glass of whiskey.

As he walked around the table towards the glasses, he noticed Tara removing her hand from Willow’s thigh. He paused, slightly confused.

Donnie, unaware of Alex’s line of sight, yelled in a friendly tone.

“Oi, Harris, what’s with you? Get the glasses!”

Alex shook his head and picked up the glasses, taking them to the living room area where Donnie was setting up some dominos.

Dylan cleared his plate and turned to Willow and Tara.

“Are you ladies joinin’ us for some games?” He offered, gesturing to where Donnie and Alex were already swearing at each other over their current hand.

“Oh actually, I um, need Tara’s help. With my book! Another female perspective and all that” She side eye’s Tara to agree.

“Oh um, yes I can do that.” Tara nodded, trying to keep the flush from her face.


“That’s nice, you girls have fun - leave the men to the domino battle” Dylan rolled his eyes in the direction of the raised voices coming from the domino spread coffee table.

The girls didn’t hear a word he said and Tara mumbled a “Goodnight, father” before turning eagerly for the door.

They fought to keep their pace measured and not show their eagerness, in case anyone could see from the window, and strode silently towards Willow’s cabin once again.

Willow entered first, and started to speak with her back turned to Tara.

“I hope that little white lie was okay - “

She was cut off by soft but firm hands turning her around by her shoulders, sliding upwards across her cheeks as they were brought face to face.

Tara kicked the door closed behind her while her eyes remained locked on Willow’s, her fingers stroking her cheeks.

“W-we need to b-be careful.” she muttered, quickly losing herself to a sea of green.

“Yes” Willow responded, equally mesmerized.

Tara knew what she wanted but felt she needed to explain, as she had a feeling that as soon as she’d let herself be swept up in Willow, she may be unable to find the ground again.

“I’ve always known a … pull, an a-attraction for w-women. It n-never felt wrong to me, b- but I never thought… I never knew… you’re so beautiful.”

Tara was losing the battle of self control but was happy she had managed to express something, as minimal as it was.

“You enchant me. Yet we know so little about each other.”

Willow responded, feeling Tara’s stare drive itself into her soul.

“I want to know everything.” Tara whispered back with a smile, pulling her face closer to Willow’s, allowing their foreheads to rest together.

“We will. In time. But… right now…” Willow allowed the sentence to hang, looking Tara up and down, trying to convey her urgency, even though her increased breathing was doing that for her.

“I know” Tara ended the sentence by kissing her soundly.

As soon as they began, they pushed past their shy boundaries and allowed their passions to run free. Tongues started to stroke and in the relative privacy and darkness of the evening, Tara allowed herself the freedom of a slight moan at the heady rush running from her lips to her toes.

Willow moaned in response and slowly maneuvered them over to her bed without breaking their lip lock, knowing she wouldn’t be able to stand for too long.

She lay Tara down and lay next to her on her right side, slightly towering over her to continue their embrace.

They stayed in that position for what felt like hours. Lips pulled together and then apart, tongues met, caressed and parted, hands roamed all over, initially on the outside of their clothing along their sides and arms, but as the time grew so did their confidence, and soon Tara’s hands had reached underneath Willow’s skirt to lazily stroke her thighs, and occasionally Willow slipped her hands around the generous curve of Tara’s ass, squeezing what she found.

They did not venture further, partially from fear and partially from enjoyment, just wanting to slowly explore each other and wallow in the warm tension between them.

With her fingers resting in Tara’s hair, Willow slowly pulled back from the kiss and they stared into each other's eyes once more, their smiles causing crinkles in their corners.

“I feel like I’m on fire, like I’ve been in a barren wilderness for my whole life and now I’m.. just set alight.” Willow whispered to Tara as she held her face in her hands, inching her thigh between Tara’s legs slightly.

“Me too.” Tara smiled back, and closed her eyes briefly to kiss Willow’s thumb that rested on her cheek.

Willow removed her hands gently and lay down fully next to Tara on her side, so they could lie face to face.

“I don’t want to ruin the moment, but… what happened to your mother?”

Tara looked at her in surprise.

“I notice things, you all seem… so broken up about it, but you keep pushing forward. I want to know so much about you but, this seems more important than anything”

Tara nodded, oddly touched that Willow had noticed the large hole in her family despite not being told much directly.

“She died…t- tuberculosis. It was awful, watching her slowly w-waste away. She was s-sick for months before she passed” Tara started tearing up despite herself.

“I’m so sorry.” Willow said heavily, and hugged her tight. After a few comforting moments she quietly asked.

“What was she like?”

Tara smiled and described her without a stutter.

“She was… wonderful. Calm but confident, She didn’t say much but when she did she was hilarious. She taught me so much and made every day just… light. It has felt so grey without her. Until I met you.” Tara looked at her seriously.

They kissed again.

Tara was overcome with the kindness Willow had afforded her by noticing her pain and allowing her to talk about her mother, wanting to share that part of her. Considering how little they knew of each other, it all felt so natural and she couldn’t believe how much had happened in such a short time.

Willow was amazed at Tara’s strength, and wondered at how much more she would need for whatever the future had in store for either of them, now that their relationship existed.

“So, where do we go from here?” Willow asked.

END OF CHAPTER 16

[Laragh]

Okay, you paid the smoochie tax

I loved this chapter. It had such beautiful imagery and I was totally cascaded away with the flow. I love the obvious pull but the slow draw of the W/T relationship, which is especially believable given the time and circumstances. I really love this W/T and also the scenes and life around them but yeah...these two are just perfect *happy sigh*

[Dub]

where do we go from here?

The battle's done and we kind of won
"screeches high notes* So we sound our victory cheer.

Skim reading, Did not realise Faith was a horse, just thought it was a slayer piggyback kind of deal.
Slayers would give great piggy backs. Strength, speed and stamina. Not sure where to put the satnav though.

[shirrey]

I really liked the snippet of history we got into Willow's past- and what drew her into the work she is now

I'm not sure what to think about Alex 'catching' them- he seems harmless, and confused, but time will tell...

My favorite bit of this chapter was that both Tara and Willow acknowledged that their feelings would be described as 'wrong' but aren't letting that get in their way, they are following their hearts, and being really brave.

[Will's redemption]

This is basically a total Willow/Tara chapter because I succumb to peer pressure. You're welcome! This was going to be happening soon anyway but I rejigged the chapters around so ya'll could get your fix sooner rather than later.

Thank you very much for giving us the Willow/Tara goodness we asked for!

“I know this isn’t um, normal… but I just need to be honest, and I think I need to be brave. All I’ve done since I left home is be brave and I’m not about to stop now. Can you be brave with me?” Willow asked her softly, her eyes shining with vulnerability and hope.

“Y-Yes. I can b-be brave.” Tara responded, matching Willow’s expression.

Willow paused for herself and sighed, feeling like what she was about to say could change her life forever, and finding it odd that this was the second potentially life threatening conversation she’d be having in one day.

“I have feelings for you. I don’t know what they are, or what they mean, but I can’t stop thinking about you and… and kissing you is the best thing I’ve ever felt. I know it’s… wrong… but it doesn’t feel wrong, to me.”

Tara slowly put her hand on Willow’s own, resting on Willow’s knee. Their eyes locked as Tara tried to steady her nerves to respond.

“You’re not w-wrong. I feel it too.”

Willow’s eyes lit up and she smiled in relief and excitement. They smiled at each other in mutual acceptance.

Yay for their bravery to admit their feelings for each other!

Tara rested her hand slightly on Willow’s thigh under the table, causing Willow to pause in her meal and side eye Tara with a heated look.

Tara responded with a squeeze of her thigh, and a returned gaze.

Alex took this moment to thank Tara and Willow for the meal and ask if anyone wanted a drink, before rising to get him and Donnie a glass of whiskey.

As he walked around the table towards the glasses, he noticed Tara removing her hand from Willow’s thigh. He paused, slightly confused.

Tara kicked the door closed behind her while her eyes remained locked on Willow’s, her fingers stroking her cheeks.

“W-we need to b-be careful.” she muttered, quickly losing herself to a sea of green.

Maybe you should start by refraining from touching each other in a "more than friends"-way in the company of the men.
I hope that Xander won't guess the truth - and if he does that he'll keep quiet.

“I don’t want to ruin the moment, but… what happened to your mother?”

Tara looked at her in surprise.

“I notice things, you all seem… so broken up about it, but you keep pushing forward. I want to know so much about you but, this seems more important than anything”

Tara nodded, oddly touched that Willow had noticed the large hole in her family despite not being told much directly.

“She died…t- tuberculosis. It was awful, watching her slowly w-waste away. She was s-sick for months before she passed” Tara started tearing up despite herself.

“I’m so sorry.” Willow said heavily, and hugged her tight. After a few comforting moments she quietly asked.

“What was she like?”

Tara smiled and described her without a stutter.

“She was… wonderful. Calm but confident, She didn’t say much but when she did she was hilarious. She taught me so much and made every day just… light. It has felt so grey without her. Until I met you.” Tara looked at her seriously.

They kissed again.

Tara was overcome with the kindness Willow had afforded her by noticing her pain and allowing her to talk about her mother, wanting to share that part of her. Considering how little they knew of each other, it all felt so natural and she couldn’t believe how much had happened in such a short time.

Another kind of bravery and an act of empathy that Willow asked Tara about her mother. I can understand that being able to talk about her mother is a relief for Tara and being comforted by Willow is a balm for her soul as well.

The prologue of the chapter made me wonder if the first vampire Willow saw in her life might be one we know (maybe Angelus?) and if so if he would recognize her as well.

[GrimCityGirl]

I'll just uh... scooch on in here...

Okay, you paid the smoochie tax

I loved this chapter. It had such beautiful imagery and I was totally cascaded away with the flow. I love the obvious pull but the slow draw of the W/T relationship, which is especially believable given the time and circumstances. I really love this W/T and also the scenes and life around them but yeah...these two are just perfect *happy sigh*

I am glad the eventual payment of smoochie tax was appreciated. There is much more of that to come but I am a slow burn freak so patience is needed.

I really like writing this sort of delicate honesty vibe they have, it's fun! thanks for reading.

where do we go from here?

The battle's done and we kind of won
"screeches high notes* So we sound our victory cheer.

Skim reading, Did not realise Faith was a horse, just thought it was a slayer piggyback kind of deal.
Slayers would give great piggy backs. Strength, speed and stamina. Not sure where to put the satnav though.

You know when I first had the idea for this story and put Faith in as a horse I did it as a bit of a gag. Since then I've been on a bit of a Faith/Buffy fan fiction kick and I am mortified I didn't let Faith be a real character in this story because damn would she have fitted well.

Still makes me laugh though, I agree slayers would be amazing at piggy back.

Thanks for reading!

I really liked the snippet of history we got into Willow's past- and what drew her into the work she is now

I'm not sure what to think about Alex 'catching' them- he seems harmless, and confused, but time will tell...

My favorite bit of this chapter was that both Tara and Willow acknowledged that their feelings would be described as 'wrong' but aren't letting that get in their way, they are following their hearts, and being really brave.

Yeah I debated making that struggle stronger but I genuinely believe that history only ever shines the harshest light on the past and that maybe not all LGBT love experiences in the past were just pure pain. People find each other, love finds a way and all that. There's plenty of other pain in this story, they don't need it.

Thanks for everything my dear! and for beta-ing for me yet again!

Thank you very much for giving us the Willow/Tara goodness we asked for!

You're very welcome! eventually... if I finish it... there'll be much more

Yay for their bravery to admit their feelings for each other!

Yay indeed!

Maybe you should start by refraining from touching each other in a "more than friends"-way in the company of the men.
I hope that Xander won't guess the truth - and if he does that he'll keep quiet.

Yes excitement getting the better of them, we'll find out how Xander reacts down the line.

The prologue of the chapter made me wonder if the first vampire Willow saw in her life might be one we know (maybe Angelus?) and if so if he would recognize her as well.

That would have been an interesting idea but genuinely no, it's a random vamp attack. I am keen on Willow essentially being removed from the existing world of characters as she is our "eyes" outside the richer tapestry of character connections.

Thanks for reading!

Update below!

[GrimCityGirl]

UPDATE
Ohai guys!
Welp... it's been a *little* while.
I got side tracked by a lot of personal stuff. I'm not going to say "I'm back, baby!" but I reread some of this story and realised how much I liked it and wanted to try and continue.
I'm not going to commit to a schedule or anything but I have a lot of the next ten or more chapters planned out roughly so it's not impossible for me to continue.
I'm sorry for my complete inability to be consistent with any story but well, in Willow/Tara land that's quite standard isn't it?
Thanks to Shirrey for being my beta again!


Chapter 17

1897

A warm blanket of sun coats the Ranch’s roof tiles, bouncing off the surface of every milk pale and bucket of water on the busy grounds. Donnie and Tara walked their horses around the paddock, smiling and joking to themselves, while the hired field hands continued their work around the ranch. Meredith Maclay sat in a worn rocking chair just outside the front door of the main house. Despite the summer air she had a heavy woollen shawl draped over her shoulders. She watched her children from afar with a sad smile gracing her features.

She coughed for a moment, her eyes worriedly glancing around hoping her family hadn’t noticed. She coughed into a cloth she took out from her skirts pocket, and saw the reddening evidence of her condition. She leaned forward, picking up a pencil and paper from the small table in front of her position. With one last glance around the ranch, she started to write.

Rupert, It’s been far too long since we’ve seen you. The children are grown, the ranch is thriving - who knew Sunnydale could become a hub of life and comfort? There’s still darkness here but it doesn’t seem to touch us outside the town limits.

I hate to do this but, I feel you should know - I’m not well. I saw a doctor and he says it’s the black lung. TB they call it, It has a longer name but it went over my head. I don’t have long. I’m trying to use my magic to stave off the symptoms but it’s not working, I fear I will get weaker and weaker as the days march on.

The sound of slowing horse hooves stilled her writing, and she looked up to appraise the newcomer. A snake faced man jumped down from a horse, wearing a plain suit and a bowler hat. His shorter stature was more obvious once his feet had hit the ground. Dylan walked towards the visitor, smiling as he extended his hand in a friendly greeting. The man, with a smirk, ignored the hand completely.

“Why, if it isn’t Dylan Matthews” he almost spat out, his disdain evident on his face. Dylan’s smile immediately vanished from view, morphing into a tight line.

“I’m sorry sir, name’s Maclay, I aint no Matthews.” Dylan stared the man in the eyes as he spoke. The snake faced man threw his head backwards in a sarcastic chuckle.

“Cut the crap, Matthews. We’ve got you.” he barked, his amusement disappearing, as he pushed a wanted poster onto Dylan’s chest. Dylan moved backwards slightly in response to the impact, before inspecting the poster. As his eyes glanced over the paper, the snake faced man started pacing around Dylan.

“You were lucky, The agency had no idea for years, but recently there’s been some new faces upstairs and apparently they have some fascinating ways of gaining information. Now you’re all in our sights, only a matter of time until we find the others.”

Dylan made one last attempt at feigned ignorance. “Sir, I’m sorry but I truly don’t know what you’re - “

The snake faced man smacked him hard in the face with the base of his rifle.

“You’ve got two choices, Matthews. I can take you in now, and maybe get a bonus for my trouble, or you can give me some money and I can say that our information was… flawed, and make this go away.” His smirk returned.

“You want a bribe?” Dylan stated matter of factly, not surprised that the detectives of this new ‘civilised’ world would so easily bend the rules.

“I don’t give a shit if a sniffling weasel from some two bit gang stays out of prison if I get something out of it - now are you gonna pay me, or am I knocking you down and tying your wife up like cattle and dragging her ass in too?”

Meredith looked on at the display between the two men in front of her. She couldn’t hear the conversation but she could tell both from their body language and their auras that something serious was happening. She knew not to interfere with potential violent interactions on the ranch in normal situations (as Dylan had told her repeatedly over the years) but especially with her health the way it was, she knew it would be fruitless. She glanced over to see if her children or the field hands had noticed and thankfully no one seemed to.

She glanced back down at her letter and continued to write.

Somethin’ is happening here, Dylan may be in trouble, I’m not sure. All I know is.. I’m dying, and I need you.

I know you didn’t want to come back here but… Brother, please. Come back. Help me. Help us. Come home.

Yours, Meredith

—-------------

1899

Tara slowed Jack down outside Giles’s house, hopping off of his back and fixing him to the post outside. She stroked his flank and hummed to him softly for a second, her believed innate ability to soothe an animal working as intended, leaving a relaxed Jack waiting for her return journey.

After a night spent quietly talking to Willow in the warm cocoon of their mutual affection, Tara was reluctant to spend the next day travelling to her uncle's home but knew he needed her tea blend to help stave off his illness.

She was forever grateful to Giles for his efforts during her mother’s waning months, his reappearance in their lives gave her mother some hope and helped ease the symptoms for a while - working with Tara to design a remedy, but unfortunately it was not enough. The dreaded condition seemed keen to linger and appeared to have infected Giles also, leaving Tara with a sense of guilt and obligation - she hoped that by treating him earlier than they had managed with her mother, they may be able to find a way out.

She procured her ingredients from Jack’s saddlebag and knocked on the rune-embedded door. Before the door opened she could hear a hauntingly familiar cough on the other side, its lung rattling depth was reminiscent in a way that twisted her conscience. After a pause, the door opened carefully to the exhausted face of her uncle.

“Tara, my dear, it’s good to see you” he leaned back against the door frame and gestured for her to enter.

“I’m so sorry I haven’t been by sooner, uncle” Tara greeted, taking in his weaker appearance.

“That’s quite alright, you’ve had some trouble at the ranch I presume?” he gave her a brief once over with his eyes to confirm that she was unscathed.

“You heard about the attack?” She cocked her eyebrow in enquiry as she made her way to the copper kettle in the kitchen area.

“Sadly, bad news travels fast,” he sighed. “Your brother confirmed the stories yesterday. Is your father alright?” he questioned.

“Yes, he’s h-healing nicely, I’ll tell him you asked after him” Tara responded while heating water in the kettle and preparing her herb concoction for the tea, making sure to have enough for him for a few days in her absence.

“Thank you” Giles sat in his usual dining chair while Tara finished brewing. She placed his cup in front of him at the table and took the opposite seat with a cup of her own. He picked up the cup and slowly drank, savouring its unique flavours. Tara kept looking at her cup, not feeling comfortable looking at him while she spoke.

“It’s no excuse. I should have been here for you. I’m sorry.” she slowly raised her head with her apology, a lone tear falling down her cheek.

“Tara, no. I understand. Please do not take my… condition onto your shoulders” he leaned forward and rested his other hand over her vacant one on the table. She nodded, but couldn’t allow her guilt to alleviate. Giles squeezed her hand slightly before pulling it back, pausing a moment with a look of pensive thought.

“You know, Tara… I always feel better when I hear you sing with the tea. It’s… calming. Silly, I know” he muttered, in feign innocence, while taking another sip and keeping his eyes on her.

“Of course” she nodded, before singing the first thing that came to mind.

There is a flower within my heart, Daisy, Daisy!
Planted one day by a glancing dart,
Planted by Daisy Bell!
Whether she loves me or loves me not,
Sometimes it's hard to tell;
Yet I am longing to share the lot
Of beautiful Daisy Bell!

Tara realised while singing that the song in question mirrored her budding feelings for Willow and she marvelled to herself how even subconsciously her affection was impacting her choices.

While Tara sang effortlessly, focusing on her love, Giles was watching her performance in awe and guilt as he saw the faint tendrils of her magic escape her aura and spread through the room, winding themselves around him and flowing through his skin, immediately easing his ability to breathe.

He was amazed that Tara was seemingly unaware of her power, and wondered how someone could be so effective with healing magic without control or intention.

He wished he could speak to Meredith about it, as he wished he could speak to her about so many things now.

Daisy, Daisy,
Give me your answer, do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!

When Tara finished the song she noticed Giles had some colour returning to his cheeks. She smiled at him, happy her tea was working.

“I feel better already” he smiled back at her, she noticed however that the smile didn’t fully reach his eyes.

“I will come back in a few days, Uncle. I have left you en-enough for longer but I will be back soon” she stood and leaned forward over the table to kiss him on the cheek, the move surprising them both.

“Thank you” he looked up to her with sincerity and stood next to her, showing her out. He stood in the doorway while Tara remounted Jack and left with a wave back in the direction of the ranch. Giles watched after her for a moment before addressing the sky.

“Oh Meredith, your fear and secrets have doomed us both”.

—--------------------------------------------------

Willow had bounced her pen repeatedly on the desk, staring out of the cabin window, completely ignoring the blank page in front of her. She could not concentrate. Last night had completely upended her entire perception of love and life as she had known it.

She had spent the night in Tara’s arms, talking about their lives, their families, their hopes and dreams, anything and everything they could, in between bouts of curious kissing and explorative caresses. The way her skin was set on fire from every touch of Tara’s hands, the way her stomach fluttered with each revelation of Tara’s person, the way her head swam from the enchanting scent of Tara’s hair. When they had parted for the night, Willow spent hours clutching the pillow, breathing Tara in and retracting each step of the evening one by one, keeping herself awake well past the dawn. And now she could not begin to focus on her work because of her craving. She felt mad with it, intoxicated by the experience.

In truth, it scared her. The magnitude of her emotions and the rate with which they built made her worry that at some point it would collapse in on itself and take her soul with it. Was she strong enough to survive a love like this?

Her thoughts were jarred when she heard arriving horse hooves outside, headed toward the barn.

She popped her head out of the door in unrestrained curiosity and caught a glimpse of Tara’s back. She waited at the door frame, feeling like she should retreat for some attempt at dignity but she could not move. She needed to see her, and needed to be seen.

After a moment Tara re-emerged from the barn door and caught Willow’s eye.

She smiled.


—------------------------------------------------------


1878

Two giggling figures in the dark stumbled through the door.

“Shh, Rupert. We can’t wake my father!” Jenny giggle-whispered, shushing Giles with her finger dramatically.

“Sorry” he chuckled quietly at her, smiling brightly on his uneasy feet.

Jenny struck a match and lit a lone gas lamp from the side table, turning it low. The room illuminated slightly, moving in a haunting shudder and dancing with the shadows. The room itself looked like a stately office, lined with books and antiques and rich, wooden furniture.

“I know he keeps a good bottle of whiskey in here somewhere, I’ll go look” Jenny winked at Rupert and opened a cupboard, keeping her back turned to him while she searched. Immediately sobering his expression, Rupert carefully walked towards the desk of Bob Calendar, keeping as quiet as he possibly could. With frequent glances to Jenny’s turned back, he searched the desk for anything useful to The Watson Gang, quickly scanning over letters carelessly left. He overheard Jenny muttering “Where is it” to herself while she continued moving things in the cupboard and took the opportunity to carefully open the top drawer of the desk.

Something caught his attention, and he quickly pocketed a letter and quietly closed the drawer, backing away from the desk, just as Jenny stage whispered “A Ha!” aloud. She swivelled around, holding up a weathered looking bottle of whiskey and shook it a little, grinning at him and winking.

“Mission accomplished!” She said, triumphantly.

“Indeed” he responded, with a sad smile.

After drinking, lying and laying, Rupert returned to The Watson camp. The sun was starting to creep up in the distance, beginning to bathe the grass in light. Most of the camp inhabitants were still asleep, but Rayne and Watson were drinking coffee by the fire. He stood next to them, not taking a seat.

“I’ve got a lead.” he announced, dejectedly.

“Really? Any good?” Watson asked, taking in Rupert Grant's surly demeanour and mistaking its purpose.

“Actually… it’s probably the best lead we’ve ever had. This could be it, Ricky” Rupert declared with importance but tinged with sadness. He handed the letter he took to Watson, who immediately started to read.

The further he read, the wider his eyes became.

“This… This is it. We’re gonna be free, boys. We’re finally gonna live free!”


END OF CHAPTER 17

[shirrey]

So glad to see this being updated!!!
It's already right back to being intriguing- love both Meredith and Tara's relationship with Giles, and that you are bringing more of Tara's abilities into play, even if she doesn't know about them fully yet

Giles is in a complex situation and I like how he is torn about his actions towards Jenny- seems like there will be huge repercussions from that whole situation. Keep 'em coming!

[Laragh]

Oh wow - it took me a sec to remember where I'd left off from in this fic, I was like 'oh, I know this one, what was the premise again?' and then I see those dates and I'm right back there! Yes!

Adore that song choice for Tara. I can just imagine her singing it so gracefully.

Loving how Willow is discovering all of these feelings (emotional and physical) with Tara - it's such a sweet reprieve in a time of such turmoil!

Excellent work and well done on picking this up again!